Unexpectedly Acquainted
by mandamedieval
Summary: She barely even knew him. Draco Malfoy was just one of those kids she passed in the halls between classes. Thanks to the Dark Lord, however, Aurelia Finn and Draco Malfoy will soon find out they have a little more than just age and house in common.
1. Welcome Speeches

**-1-**  
Welcome Speeches, Parchment Squares and Good Decisions

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**Summary: **She barely even knew him. Draco Malfoy was just one of those kids she passed in the halls between classes or asked to borrow a piece of parchment from when she had none. Thanks to the Dark Lord, however, Aurelia Finn and Draco Malfoy will soon find out they have a little more than just age and house in common. And maybe a little bit greater of a task than just "that Charms essay due next period" underway.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except my made up character and plot. J.K Rowling owns all else.

**Warnings:** Sexual Situations, Violence, Character Death, Substance Use/ Abuse, Adult Language, Book 7 Disregarded, Book 6 Events Slightly Altered

* * *

It looked just the same from the outside. It hadn't, of course, given her that same feeling it did seven years ago because she was used to seeing the great castle. However, Aurelia had that feeling in the pit of her stomach that everything would be different now. After the death of Albus Dumbledore the previous school year Aurelia had no doubt in her mind that while the outside of the school looked as grand and desolate as before, the inside hallways and classrooms were going to be a whole different world.

Taking a deep sigh from her thoughts, she stepped carefully out of the Thestral-drawn carriage and followed the rest of the students up through the front doors of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The Great Hall quickly flooded with students, teachers and ghosts. Aurelia looked up at the High Table to the chair in which Dumbledore usually sat and saw Professor McGonagall taking his place. She stood up and the Hall slowly fell silent. A moment later Professor Flitwick appeared in the Great Hall followed closely by a large group of first years. Many of whom were of the same height as--or taller than--him. They assembled themselves in a line at the front of the Great Hall as the Sorting Hat was brought out. Aurelia paid no real attention to the Sorting Hat's song, she had been too focused thinking about very important details of her life she still needed to sort out and very important decisions that needed to be made.

"SLYTHERIN!"

She had snapped out of her thoughts to see a small boy with curly light brown hair stepping away from the sorting hat and sitting at the far end of her house table as her fellow classmates erupted with applause. She looked at the line of students in front of the Great Hall, each eleven-year-old quivering nervously. The Sorting had begun.

"Bradley, Harold!" squeaked Professor Flitwick and a boy with unusually pale skin and dark hair that contrasted his face oddly stepped to the Sorting Hat.

After a moment's pause the Sorting Hat screamed,

"Hufflepuff!"

"Dunstan, Emily" Flitwick cried.

She was sorted into Hufflepuff as well and took a seat next to the pale boy with the brown hair. The rest of the children were sorted into their houses (with twelve new additions to Slytherin, including the first boy with the curly hair) and McGonagall stood up to address the school.

"I'd just like to say 'Welcome' to all our new students and 'Welcome Back' to our returning ones. While last year was ended with some very sorrowful events," she bowed her head for a moment and was mimicked by the teachers and a majority of the student body then continued, "I hope, however, that we can start this school year off fresh and with happy beginnings. It is even now, in times like this that we all must remember to keep our loved ones close and make friends with our enemy because the only thing that holds us together is ourselves."

At this, several people exchanged loving glances with their friends around them and shot dirty looks at those they disliked. McGonagall's tone changed suddenly as she continued.

"As per usual, our caretaker, Mr. Filch has asked me to remind you that no magic is to be used in the corridors between classes and the use of any Weasley & Weasley products is prohibited indoors or during learning hours. I would also like to take a moment to welcome Professor Nymphadora Tonks who will kindly be replacing my previous post at Transfiguration," McGonagall had a look on her face that seemed to suggest she wasn't at all keen on giving up her old teaching job, "And to welcome back Professor Remus Lupin to his old job of Defense Against the Dark Arts. Good luck, Professors!"

The Hall exploded with applause, most thunderous from the Gryffindor table. Without another word, McGonagall gave everyone a great smile, sat down in her seat and mounds of food appeared in the gold plates on all the House tables. Everyone around her ate, drank and chatted away about their holidays and the school year ahead of them. Aurelia had no desire to discuss anything with her friends at all. She ate her supper and listened to their heated conversations. Everyone seemed so excited and carefree, Aurelia almost envied them. She wished that it would be as simple as sitting and talking about nothing interesting in particular, not having to care or worry about anything other than class the next morning.

Aurelia didn't have any particular interest in spending the rest of the night in the Slytherin Common Room with her chattering house mates so she proceeded straight through the passageway in the Common Room that led to the Girl's Dormitories. Once she reached the seventh door to her left, she opened the door to find a Dormitory that looked nearly identical to the one she had lived in the previous year. She scanned the beds for her belongings and finally found a trunk that had the initials ALF--Aurelia Leandra Finn--on it at the foot of the bed to the immediate right of the door. She took out her wand, pointed it at the candle sitting dormant on her nightstand and said clearly,

"Incendio."

A flame appeared and danced merrily upon the candle's wick. She sat on her bed, rolled up her left sleeve and examined the smooth, bare skin on her wrist and inner forearm. She ran her fingers up and down her arm and let out a deep sigh. Pulling her sleeve back down she took out a piece of parchment, a quill and a bottle a dark green ink. She dipped her quill into the ink and hovered it over the parchment for a long moment. Thinking of how to best word the letter she was getting ready to write, she began thinking about how much her life could change. It will probably be for the better. She knew she wanted this. She knew she deserved this. She knew she was destined for this. What she didn't know was if she would be changed by this. Would doing this completely consume her? Change her into someone she's not? She wasn't sure how these things happened or how it affected people. She had remembered what she had been told.

"Your choice is final. Once you choose there will be absolutely no turning back. I don't want you to feel like you've made a mistake later on," had been the words of her father.

Aurelia held those words in her memory, held them there tightly. She knew that his words were the things helping her make this decision. Though this confrontation happened just a few days ago, it felt like it had been ages since she first went to her father, who was sitting quietly in his study, asking him about it all. Asking him if she could be a part of it. Listening to his cautions but all the same, seeing a glint of pride in his eyes. She knew this was what her father wanted for her and this was what she wanted for herself. All the same, it was still a difficult decision to make.

After a long while, Aurelia dipped her quill in the ink bottle again, for the ink on the tip of her quill had long since dried up, and pressed it to the parchment. She began moving her hand and delicately wrote, "OK." She folded the bit of parchment into an origami square, tucked it into her pocket and left the Dormitory. She walked through the passageway, passing the doors of the other Girl's Dormitories and stepped out into the Common Room. It was overcrowded with people talking loudly over the already loud music that was playing. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, everyone except Aurelia.

"Aurelia! There you are! We'd wondered where you'd gone. Come and have a butterbeer with us," called her friend Issac from across the room.

Aurelia simply shook her head, waved her hand feverishly in his direction and continued out of the Common Room. She walked the grounds out to the Owlery. It was a bit chilly out so she walked a brisk pace. Once at the Owlery, she selected an owl at random and tied her square letter to its leg. She watched as the owl flew out of sight through the glassless window, its wing nearly colliding with the side of it. Just then, suddenly, a feeling of what she had done came over her. She felt happy, she was sure she did. Maybe even a little relieved that she had finally gotten it over with. Smiling to herself, she went back to Slytherin Dungeons at almost a merry skip. The Common Room was still crowded when she got there and being in the delightful mood that she was in, she stayed around to join the back-to-school festivities. She sat in the Common Room with her friends for a few hours, drinking butterbeer, telling pointless stories and laughing at every random joke. Damn, it felt good to be back at Hogwarts, she thought.

At nearly three-thirty in the morning Professor Slughorn (currently the new Head of Slytherin house) barged in and ordered everyone to bed. Singing a Weird Sisters' song at a semi-whisper she wobbled into her Dormitory with her friends. Nobody was in the slightest condition to shower or anything. Most of the girls in her dorm didn't even bother changing, they just flopped onto their beds and went straight to sleep. Aurelia who hadn't had half as much to drink as them, because she had been at the party for only half the time, changed into her pajamas, brushed her hair and climbed into bed. The last thought she had before falling asleep was the hell she would have to go through trying to wake up for classes the next morning.

Some eighty miles away, in a poorly lit room stood four cloaked figures. One stood nobly in front of them with a second cringing worshipfully to his side, listening to the last two talking to him slowly and in low voices. Just then, an owl swooped in and dropped a neatly folded letter onto the floor of one of the last two wizards. He picked up the letter, read it and smiled pleasantly. The other two, realizing what he was smiling about (because they had just been on the topic) mimicked him.

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**A/N- Thanks for reading : Reviews are super nice and get awarded cookies! (OK, not really.) But they are pretty swell. Chapter two should be out momentarily and I promise it will be longer. It's more of a writing style of mine to make my first chapter fairly short. Thanks and see you next time!**


	2. Good Decisions

**-2-**  
Good Decisions, Borrowed Quills and Friendly Talks

* * *

**Summary: **She barely even knew him. Draco Malfoy was just one of those kids she passed in the halls between classes or asked to borrow a piece of parchment from when she had none. Thanks to the Dark Lord, however, Aurelia Finn and Draco Malfoy will soon find out they have a little more than just age and house in common. And maybe a little bit greater of a task than just "that Charms essay due next period" underway.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except my made up character and plot. J.K Rowling owns all else.

**Warnings:** Sexual Situations, Violence, Character Death, Substance Use/ Abuse, Adult Language, Book 7 Disregarded, Book 6 Events Slightly Altered

* * *

The snake lunged at Aurelia and struck. Once. Twice. She screamed with pain, thrashing around wildly. The snake struck at her again, violently and very fast. It was almost like it was...pecking at her.

Aurelia opened her eyes and saw a golden-brown owl clipping her arm fervently with its beak.

"Alright, alright! I'm up. Calm yourself," she groaned and took the letter from the owl's claw.

She opened it and saw, very clearly written, a date, a time and a place. She smiled to herself, knowing that her decision had been made final. Aurelia flopped back onto her bed and breathed a sigh of relief. She closed her eyes and let herself fall into her thoughts for a long while.

"Transfiguration in fifteen minutes!" someone called to her from the doorway.

Aurelia shot her eyes open and jumped out of bed in an instant. Cursing to herself she picked out her uniform and sprinted to the bathroom. She tried as quickly as possible to do the things it takes her nearly an hour to do, in ten minutes. Once she was dressed (with the absence of a shower) and her teeth were brushed, she rushed back to her Dormitory, threw her worn pajamas, toothbrush, tooth paste and towel--which was almost completely dry--onto her bed hastily and started to search for her school bag. Having been so out of place the night before, she had forgotten to prepare her school bag for classes. Quickly, she dug through her trunk, trying to find her transfiguration book, potions book, cauldron, quill, ink, rolls of parchment and wand. She stuffed it all into her bag and left the rest of her school things to be worried about for during the lunch period. Slipping on her black shoes, running a brush through her dark brown hair and throwing her bag over her shoulder, Aurelia ran out of the Dormitory as fast as she could.

At the foot of the marble staircase, Aurelia paused to take a deep breath and ran up the stairs to the Transfiguration classroom. This is going to make a bad first impression on the new teacher, she thought. Aurelia made a point of being on the good side of all her teachers because fact shows that when a teacher favors you, life is a little brighter when that class comes around.

"Metamorphmagus. It means I can change--" Professor Tonks was cut off by the entrance of Aurelia into the classroom.

Aurelia looked down sheepishly and slowly walked to the front of the class. She knew she was at least ten minutes late and once you're more than five minutes late to a class, most teachers tend to give you detention.

"My class began twelve minutes ago, Miss," she paused to scan for Aurelia's name on her roll sheet. "Miss Finn, is it?" Aurelia nodded.

Tonks paused for moment as thought recalling Aurelia's name then said finally,

"I'll be seeing you in detention then, won't I?" Aurelia nodded once more. "There's an empty seat next to Mr. Malfoy if you'd care to take it."

Aurelia walked to take a seat next to Draco Malfoy. Across the isle from her seat was her good friend Issac who gave her a mocking grin for getting detention the first day back. She simply shot him a look that told him he needed to shut up if he knew what was good him.

"As I was saying, I'm a metamorphmagus. This means that I can change my appearance at will. For example..."

Her hair quickly turned from its regular shade of pink to a deep violet. Her eyes became burning fire-engine red and her skin more than extremely pale. And, with the blink of an eye, it all went back to the way it was before. The entire class watched in amazement and clapped loudly when it was all over. Even Aurelia thought it was interesting.

"How can I learn that?" shouted a Hufflepuff boy with sandy hair and freckles from the back of the classroom.

Professor Tonks simply chuckled at this.

"You can't become it. You are born with it," she stated matter-of-factly.

A few students groaned in displeasure obviously thinking that being able to change your appearance at will would be the most exciting thing in the world. Who's to argue? You can probably do anything you want and always get away with it because you would look different every time. Aurelia thought about the possibilities of being a metamorphmagus.

"Oi, too bad you're not one. You could do something about that face," she taunted, turning to Issac.

He stuck his tongue out at her.

"Now, if you'll all please take out your wands," Tonks said to the class.

Aurelia rummaged her overturned school bag for her wand and Transfiguration book. She set both on her desk and waited for further instructions. After a half hour of attempting to transfigure a train whistle into a miniature grandfather clock, the most Aurelia managed was an oddly deformed whistle that made a tick-tock noise when you blew on it (if you could find the right hole, that is). Due to everyone's incapability to transfigure their whistles, Tonks ordered the class to take out their quills and write notes. As Aurelia looked through bag for her quill she groaned in despair as she saw that her quill had snapped clean in half due to being crushed between her Potions book and cauldron. She took out a small roll of parchment and her black ink, then turned to her seating partner next to her.

"Draco," she whispered. "You wouldn't happen to have a quill I can borrow, would you?"

"I would. Would you like to borrow it?" Aurelia nodded. "Sucks to be you then, doesn't it?"

Aurelia scowled then quickly wiped the unpleasant expression off of her face.

"Please? I'm desperate," she added sweetly.

"What's in it for me?" he asked slyly.

Aurelia shrugged but had a pleading look in her eyes. Draco sighed and handed her a dark gray quill from his bag.

"Thank you!" she whispered quickly and began copying the notes off the chalkboard.

Everyone had just finished copying down the remainder of the text on the board when the bell rang for class to dismiss.

"Be prepared to try the whistle exercise again tomorrow!" Tonks called to the departing class.

Aurelia gathered up her things and stuffed them clumsily into her bag.

"Wait!" she called to Draco before he'd left. "Thanks for the quill."

"You owe me," he smirked as he took it out of her hand.

Aurelia shook her head with a smile and proceeded past him down the staircase. She was going to ask Draco what class he had next but when she turned around and saw him surrounded by a group of friends, she decided against it. The autumn breeze and semi-low temperature was cool and refreshing compared to the stuffiness of the Transfiguration room. She joined a group of students huddled together on the Quidditch Pitch.

Games was nothing too interesting for Aurelia. Call her strange, but she found absolutely no enjoyment out of sitting on an enchanted cleaning implement, flying through the air and tossing unevenly-round balls through giant rings planted fifty feet from the ground trying all the while to not fall to her death.

Aurelia was rather glad when lunch rolled around after her Charms class with Ravenclaw. She had missed breakfast and something about being in a difficult class full of braniacs that knew exactly what they were doing--unlike her--made her all the more hungry. She was just about to take the first spoonful of vegetable soup into her mouth when someone called her name. She turned around to see Issac coming towards her.

"Come with me," he said quickly.

"No I bloody won't! I haven't eaten a thing all day," Aurelia scoffed.

"Well, eat quickly then! This is important!" he urged.

Aurelia rolled her eyes and ate her bowl of soup with several slices of bread and butter. When she was done, she stood feeling content and agreed to follow Issac to wherever it was he was taking her. He led her down to the dungeons. It looked at first as thought they were going to the Common Room but then Issac took a turn away from it. Aurelia followed him down a winding corridor to a plain black door. Issac gestured for Aurelia to go in. As soon as she stepped through the door, buckets of water spilled down on her leaving her drenching wet. She turned slowly on the spot, water dripping from her and looked menacingly at Issac who was doubling over in fits of laughter.

"Come give me a hug," she said sweetly and walked towards Issac, her arms outstretched.

"Oh no! No, no! You stay away from me," he backed away, still laughing.

"Come on! Just a small little hug," she smiled a glint of evil in her eye. Issac shook his head and continued to back away. "Alright then, I'll just have to kill you!"

Aurelia began chasing Issac down the corridor, both of them laughing like little children in a game of tag. Finally Aurelia got tired and doubled over, breathing heavily.

"I hate you Issac. If I'm going to be late to class because of this, I'm going to murder you."

Issac simply laughed and left her standing in the hall. Aurelia hobbled back to the Common Room still smiling. She liked the fun things that Issac did at times just to cheer her up or keep from becoming "one of those school ridden zombies" as Issac would call them. Issac can be such a little kid sometimes, you can barely tell he's actually seventeen-years-old.

"What in fuck's name happened to you?" said Draco Malfoy as she walked into the Common Room.

"Issac happened," Aurelia smiled.

Draco cocked an eyebrow, obviously curious as to why she was dripping wet and smiling when she mentioned the person that did it to her. Aurelia went into her Dormitory, quickly changed into new robes, hung her wet robes to dry, dried her hair, gathered her books for her remaining classes and headed back out of the Dormitory. Draco was still sitting on the couch.

"Why aren't you at lunch?" Aurelia wondered.

"Not hungry," he shrugged.

"So, what class do you have next?" Aurelia asked, trying to start up a conversation.

"Care of Magical Creatures," he said plainly.

This didn't seem to be working for her. Aurelia never really had a conversation with Draco Malfoy before so she knew nothing about him.

"Oh, me too. We should go together," Draco nodded absentmindedly.

Aurelia was beginning to get annoyed that he wasn't talking to her.

"Why are you so anti-social?"

"Pardon me?" Draco turned to her.

"No. I didn't mean--I just meant, you don't seem very talkative, that's all," she corrected herself.

She saw in an instant that calling him anti-social was not a bright idea.

"I have nothing to say," he grunted, not paying much attention once more.

Now Aurelia was a tad bit frustrated. Draco Malfoy never seemed like the type that wouldn't have anything to say. She always pictured him talkative, a little bit of a jerk but talkative. Kind of like he was earlier in Transfiguration.

"What's got your wand in a knot?"

"Nothing that's any of your business, to be sure," he replied.

Aurelia smiled. Now, she was getting somewhere. She sat down next to Draco and put a hand softly on his shoulder.

"Want to tell me about it?" she said.

"No," Draco scoffed. "Who do you think you are? That I'm going to tell you what's bothering me? Not that anything is."

"Yes, that's not a lie at all."

"It's not. I don't exactly appreciate you treating me like a mental patient either," he shrugged Aurelia's hand off. "So how about I tell you I'm having a hard time writing an essay and we leave it at that."

Draco stood up from the couch, grabbed his Care of Magical Creatures book and began to walk away.

"It's your dad, isn't it?" Aurelia called out to him.

"What?" he turned around and started to step towards her.

"It's just that, I used to have an older brother and you're acting the way he used to when him and my dad had a row."

Draco sat back down next to Aurelia.

"Used to?" he raised an eyebrow.

"He died when I was eleven," she began. "But I remember him. Seeing you here was almost like seeing him again. Him and my dad never really got along. Let's just say he didn't want to follow in my dad's footsteps. Anyway, they fought a lot about it. Every time they argued it would always lead to my dad saying that Jasper--that was my brother's name--was ungrateful and didn't love his family. It wasn't true. Jasper loved us all very much. He just didn't really want to adjust to my dad's erm...lifestyle. I was always there for him when I could be. I tried to talk to him whenever him and dad argued but he always snapped at me or gave me the cold shoulder as though I had done him wrong. Everyone in the world seemed to be at fault. That's how you were acting just now, so I figured you had a row with your dad."

"How did Jasper die?" Draco asked.

"I don't really like to talk about it," she said and Draco nodded that he understood and she didn't have to tell him. "About a week before the start of term, dad and I went to Diagon Alley to buy my school things, it was going to be my first year at Hogwarts. When we came back, Jasper wasn't there. We figured he had gone out with friends so we weren't bothered. He never came back that night. My father was furious. He started yelling at how irresponsible Jasper was. Said that he'll cut his head clean off when he comes home for not leaving a note or any notice of where he'd gone. I was worried, actually, it was rather unusual for Jasper to behave like that. He was a very good kid, for a sixteen-year-old. The next day, he didn't come home. My father went to the Department of Missing Witches and Wizards. They searched for him for days. Finally, I had to go off to Hogwarts. On September second, I received an owl from my father telling me the Ministry had found my brother. Dead."

"I'm sorry," Draco murmured.

"It's quite alright, it's been seven years today that I knew of my brother's death though, so it seems an odd coincidence it's being brought up," she half-heartedly chuckled. "Now, are you going to tell me what's been bothering you?"

"Oh, right," he sighed. "I suppose I have to now. It's nothing really. You were right by the way, the part about my dad. He wants me to leave Hogwarts early."

"What! Why?"

"He wants to me to erm...ahem...work," he decided.

"Work? Well, that's stupid. What kind of job will you possibly have without having graduated Hogwarts first?" Draco shook his head.

Aurelia understood that he didn't want to answer that.

"Don't get me wrong!" he added abruptly. "I want to...work. I just want to finish up at school, that's all." Aurelia nodded and the bell rang.

Lunch was over; Time for class. Aurelia and Draco both stood up and walked out of the Common Room. The two walked to Hagrid's hut in silence. Right before they got there, however, Aurelia stopped Draco.

"Draco, do me a favor? Don't tell anyone about my brother. I'd rather just keep that bit of my life to myself."

"Sure thing," he nodded and they both joined their class in front of Hagrid.

A boy with flaming red hair whom Aurelia knew to be Ron Weasley, came strolling out of Hagrid's hut. Everyone looked at him but he failed to notice as he straightened out his hair.

"Hey, Weaselbee! What have you been doing in there? Having a little bit of fun with the giant broom?" Draco mocked.

"Shove off, Malfoy!" Ron sneered back.

Seconds later a girl with bushy brown hair stepped out behind him.

"Oh you're right. I'm sorry," Draco said, then added, "It was just Granger you were shagging. Lucky broom."

The girl who's name was Hermione Granger had gotten extremely pink in the face but her skin tone was nothing compared to the beet red that Ron was turning. Aurelia laughed silently at Draco's taunting and catching sight of that, Draco winked at her as he walked off to join his friends.

"Alrigh' settle down!" barked Hagrid. "Today I've brough' in a few friends from the Black Lake. How many o' yeh have heard o' the Grindylows?" Most people including Aurelia raised their hands. "Fantastic! Well, I 'ave a few. They live with the mer people in the lake, see? So these are domesticated enough fer us ter use in our lesson."

The lesson was interesting enough. Most of the Grindylows were fairly violent. Aurelia wondered if that was just because they didn't like being put in a tank and have people staring at them, poking at them and trying to feed them bits of food they didn't like.

By the end of the lesson, everyone had been wet up to their shoulders from having been pulled into the water by the Grindylows. Aurelia, muttering under her breath that this was the second time she had gotten soaked today, gathered her books and proceeded towards the greenhouses for Herbology. This being her last class of the day, she walked there at a merry pace though still grumpy about her soaking arm and the essay Hagrid assigned. Blaise Zabini had tried to feed one of Hagrid's pet flobberworms to the Grindylows. Hagrid had gotten very cross for the rest of the class and assigned them two rolls of parchment on the proper care and domestication of Grindylows. Aurelia failed to see why he couldn't simply have just given Blaise detention.

Aurelia was more than extremely tired by the time her Double Herbology class was over. She dragged herself to the Slytherin Common Room and flopped lazily on the bed. The Common Room immediately filled with people coming back after their classes. Everyone was doing exactly what she was: relaxing. The first day back at Hogwarts is always a difficult one. After laying on the couch for less than five minutes, Aurelia remembered she had detention and sprinted out of the Common Room.

Aurelia knocked on Professor Tonks' door and walked in cautiously. She saw Tonks sitting at her desk, playing chess with...Draco?

"Erm, Professor?" she called and Tonks looked up at her. "I'm here for my detention."

"Yes, yes come right in," she said. "You know how to play chess, I presume?"

"A little," Aurelia answered, a little puzzled.

"Good. Your detention is chess. When you beat me, you may go," she explained.

Aurelia looked at her as though waiting for her to say that it was a joke and she'd better get to work polishing trophies. No such thing happened. Contented that this was actually her detention, she pulled up a chair next to Draco and watched them play.

"Checkmate," Tonks said proudly after a few minutes. "Ten minutes, Mr. Malfoy." Aurelia looked up at her.

"Each time you lose is an extra ten minutes until your next match, unless the other person's game lasts longer than that, in which case you just have to wait," Draco explained.

Aurelia nodded. The two of them switched seats and Aurelia now sat face to face with Tonks. The game began. Nine and a half minutes later,

"Checkmate," stated Aurelia proudly.

"Very nice, Miss Finn, you may go," Tonks smiled.

Aurelia stood up from her seat happily and proceeded toward the door. She turned around to see Draco sitting down gloomily in the chair she had just occupied. Aurelia bit her bottom lip in thought for a moment and finally walked back to the teacher's desk.

"Mind if I watch?" Aurelia asked.

"Not at all," answered Professor Tonks.

Three moves into the game, Draco reached for his pawn on the far left side. Aurelia pinched him.

"Ouch!" Draco yelped.

Aurelia puffed out her eyes as if to say "don't do that". Draco looked curiously at her, hovered his hand over the Queen and moved it after a second's time. Tonks grinned. For the next eleven minutes and fourteen seconds, Aurelia guided Draco by pinching him under the table every time he was about to make a wrong move.

"Checkmate," called Draco.

Tonks smiled widely and dismissed him from detention. Aurelia didn't wait for Draco to collect his things, she simply left the room. Halfway down the hall, she heard Draco calling her name. She stopped and waited for him to catch up.

"Thanks for that," he stated plainly and walked off ahead of her.

Aurelia, smiling to herself, proceeded to the Great Hall for the remainder of dinner. Issac was nowhere to be found at the dinner table, Aurelia figured he must have gone to sleep. The first day back to school after a long break always seemed to be tough for Issac. Aurelia ate her dinner with Tara Becker, a girl who talked way to much, way to often and way to pointlessly. As soon as Aurelia was done she told her friend she'd see her later and left the Great Hall, glad for a bit of quiet. There was no one in the Common Room yet so she sat on the couch in front of the fire. About ten minutes later, Draco Malfoy came into the Common Room with three other people. One boy was very fat and short, the other very fat and tall and the last, very tall and skinny. She knew these boys to be Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle and Blaise Zabini. She rolled her eyes as she saw the four boys walk in.

"Brilliant, though, wasn't it?" she heard Blaise's voice.

"Yeah. His face turned orange," grunted Goyle.

"It was yellow!" contradicted Crabbe.

"Orange!"

"Yellow!"

"Orange!"

"Yellow!"

"Oh, will you two just shut it?" Draco cut in. "Honestly, it's like listening to gorillas fighting over a banana."

"See? He agrees with me; bananas are yellow." Crabbe whispered.

Aurelia rolled her eyes again. Hearing the four boys approaching her, she quickly stood up and started walking towards the passageway to the Girl's Dormitory.

"Where are you going?" Draco called to her.

"Bed," she called back and continued to walk.

What she really wanted to say was "away from you losers". She didn't have anything against Draco but Crabbe and Goyle were downright pains in the arse. Having missed two showers already, Aurelia decided it was the perfect time for one. She grabbed a clean pair of pajamas, her toothbrush and paste, a towel, soap and shampoo. When she walked back out to the Common Room on her way to the girl's bathroom, she saw the four boys sitting on the couches around the fire. Aurelia took a long, hot well-deserved shower. When she was finished, she put on her pajamas, tied her hair up in a towel and brushed her teeth before she left. When she appeared back in the Common Room, her things all put neatly inside her knapsack, she saw that the four boys were no longer sitting alone in front of the fireplace. Instead, were a group of five our or six girls sitting around the table in the corner, chatting excitedly and Draco sitting alone in front of the fireplace. Aurelia hesitated for a moment then decided she would go and talk to him.

"Where did your friends go?" she asked.

Draco seemed a bit startled at first but then seeing who it was looked back into the fire.

"Back to dinner," he said.

"Oh, are you going to go to bed?" Aurelia asked.

"Eventually."

"Alright, well I'll see you around then," she said and left the Common Room displeased.

Draco didn't seem to want to talk to her. She understood they weren't exactly "friends". As a matter of fact, they hadn't even had an actual conversation with each other before today but he could have still put more effort into that exchange. She walked back to the Common Room and drew the curtains away from her four-poster. Aurelia bent over to dry her hair with the towel and spotted parchment on the ground. She picked it up and saw that it was the letter she had gotten that morning.

_Friday 5, September__  
Midnight  
Finn Manor Cellar_

Aurelia folded the parchment and put it in her drawer. She blew out the candle on her nightstand and went to sleep with a satisfied smile on her face.

* * *

**A/N- Well there it is. A day in the life of Aurelia Leandra Finn. Not that her days are going to stay that way. What's going to happen Friday at midnight? Read to find out : And Review! Don't forget to do that too**


	3. Friendly Talks

**-3-**  
Friendly Talks, Pesky Pixies and New beginnings

* * *

**Summary: **She barely even knew him. Draco Malfoy was just one of those kids she passed in the halls between classes or asked to borrow a piece of parchment from when she had none. Thanks to the Dark Lord, however, Aurelia Finn and Draco Malfoy will soon find out they have a little more than just age and house in common. And maybe a little bit greater of a task than just "that Charms essay due next period" underway.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except my made up character and plot. J.K Rowling owns all else.

**Warnings:** Sexual Situations, Violence, Character Death, Substance Use/ Abuse, Adult Language, Book 7 Disregarded, Book 6 Events Slightly Altered

* * *

The second day back at Hogwarts wasn't exciting. It was just your average Thursday at school. Granted, Defense Against the Dark Arts was as interesting as it had been four years ago. Aurelia may not have liked Lupin but she couldn't deny that his classes were worth attending. He was definitely one of the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers she has ever had (along with Mad-Eye and Snape, of course).

The absence of Professor Snape had put her morning mood in a sour position. She had to sit through Potions with Professor Slughorn who, like Snape, enjoyed playing favorites with his students (not that she minded as she was one of said favorites) and Defense Against the Dark Arts with Lupin. Both classes in which she had once enjoyed the presence of Severus Snape. Aurelia wondered how he'd gotten away last year and where he was now. Perhaps he was hiding out somewhere on an Ireland mountain top. Aurelia pictured a pair of muggle hikers finding a man with greasy black hair and a crooked nose inside a mountain cave lighting a fire by shooting sparks out of the tip of a stick. That would be the last thing they'd ever see, she had thought. Wherever he was now, Aurelia was sure she'd seem him again soon. At least, she hoped she would. Snape was always Aurelia's favorite teacher and a revered family friend.

Professor Slughorn didn't seem to have changed one bit over the summer holidays. His class wasn't particularly interesting either. Unless, of course, you count that one little incident.

_Aurelia sat down lazily in a seat near the back of the dungeon classroom. She had been feeling extremely impatient since she woke, just an hour and a half ago. She had been lost in thought when someone shook her to her senses._

_"Do you mind if I sit here?" asked a boy with untidy jet black hair, emerald green eyes, thin-rimmed glasses and a lightning bolt scar on his head._

_"Yeah, I do," Aurelia said coldly. "You sit next to me and I may just have to kill myself."_

_"There's really no need to be nasty, you know," he said, taken aback at Aurelia's attitude._

_"Don't tell me what to do. If I want to be nasty, I will be. Especially to the likes of you, Potter," she growled._

_"What is your problem? What have I ever done to you?"_

_"What have you ever done to me? Well let's recap...," she started pretending to ponder the thought. "When was it? About sixteen years ago, I believe. October it was--"_

_"What are you on about? I didn't know you sixteen years ago! And if you're going to be taking that sentence where I think it was going, I think McGonagall would be pleased to know--"_

_"Is there a problem here?" someone interrupted from behind Harry. _

_He turned around to see Draco Malfoy standing behind him with his arms folded across his chest._

_"Go away, Malfoy," Harry hissed at him._

_"No, I think I rather like it right here, thanks," he smirked. _

_The smirk was more intended toward Aurelia though._

_"If you don't leave, I'll make you leave," Harry sneered._

_"Was that a threat?" _

_Then, before Aurelia could register what had happened, there were a few cracks, a couple flashes of light and everyone looked up to see Harry laying on the table next to Aurelia with his nose bleeding and Draco on the floor against the wall with a bloody lip. Everyone stood to get a better look at what happened. Aurelia could only stare in shock, much like the people around her. She was the first one to come to her senses and, completely ignoring Harry, she ran to Draco's side._

_"Draco? Are you alright?" she asked gently. Draco groaned and rubbed the back of his head. "I think you need to go the hospital wing."_

_"I'm fine." he sneered and got up off the floor, wiping the blood from his mouth. _

_Without a second look at Aurelia, Draco walked to a seat on the opposite side of the back row. Aurelia turned back to see that Harry had now been escorted to the Hospital Wing by Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. Aurelia rolled her eyes at what a pussy Harry was being and sat back in her seat not paying attention to the boring lesson ahead of her._

Still, it was an average day at Hogwarts. Friday morning Aurelia woke up even more impatient and excited than she had the day before. She just hoped for the day to be over as quickly as possible, hoping that everything would be normal, boring and move fairly quickly. How naive of her. This was Hogwarts for heaven's sake, did she honestly expect to have a normal day? True enough, while Potions and Transfiguration went by fairly smooth, Games was rather different.

Making her way to the Quidditch Pitch, Aurelia contemplated why she had even taken this class as she looked up gloomily at the sky, seeing dark clouds rolling overhead. It seemed it was going to rain. She only hoped it wouldn't be soon. Aurelia knew better than to think that Madam Hooch would dismiss them early from class if it began to "drizzle". Aurelia shook her head at herself and continued to the Pitch.

Madam Hooch had decided to set up a small Quidditch game for her class. She made Draco Malfoy and Zacharias Smith team captains. Aurelia scoffed at the mere thought of a Slytherin vs. Hufflepuff Quidditch game. It was laughable to her, really, that Hufflepuff thought they stood a chance against them. While Aurelia herself didn't particularly enjoy playing Quidditch, she didn't mind watching it--not that it was her _favorite _thing to do--and definitely knew that her house was superior at the game in the school. Draco and Zacharias each began to pick their eight players. It was Draco's turn to pick his very last player and there were about three Slytherins left, including herself. Aurelia was barely paying attention. She was picking at her nails, knowing full well that she wouldn't be chosen because she can't play worth a damn.

"Aurelia," someone said.

Aurelia looked up to see Draco staring at her, waiting for her to come be with the other seven people standing with him. She looked around for a quick moment to see if she had heard right then pointed an index finger at her chest. Draco nodded.

"Erm, no that's OK. I'm not very good at this," she refused.

"C'mon Miss Finn, we haven't got all day, go get yourself a broom," Hooch groaned impatiently.

"Are you joking?" Draco shook his head.

Aurelia let out a huff and grabbed a broom from the side of the bleachers. She glared at Draco angrily for making her attempt this and gathered in the circle her team was forming.

Draco began giving out positions, naming himself as Seeker--naturally--and Aurelia as one of the three Chasers.

"Can't I be a Beater? I'd really love to _hit_ something right now," she emphasized the word 'hit' and stared at Draco coldly as she did.

"No, Chaser," he stated, ignoring the threat.

Aurelia groaned and mounted her broom.

Ten minutes into the game, Aurelia was in possession of the ball. It was her first time having the ball during the entire game and she honestly had no idea what she going to do with it. She had been rather useless the previous ten minutes. Looking around for one of the other Chasers to pass the ball to, she started making her way toward the goalposts. She knew there was no way in hell that she was going to make a goal but decided that she'd at least do something worthwhile and get closer to the target for them. None of the other two Chasers were close enough for her to throw the ball to one of them and she was just several feet away from the Hufflepuff Keeper. At first, she panicked, then she decided that not doing anything would be worse than trying to score and missing. Below, she heard the two Slytherin students that weren't picked for the team, chanting Draco's name below. Aurelia guessed that he was going after the Snitch.

Everything else happened too quickly for Aurelia to understand. She threw the ball as hard as she could towards the right goalpost, she saw something dark red whizzing towards out of the corner of her eye, she heard exploded cheers from the two girls below her, she heard a whistle blow, she felt a sharp pain on the side of her head and everything went dark.

A long while later, Aurelia woke up to a white ceiling above her.

"Ugh, what the bloody hell happened to me?" she groaned rubbing her temple.

"You got hit in the head with a Bludger and passed out," came a voice next to her.

She turned her head to see a boy with white-blond hair sitting to her right, holding something in his hands.

"Merlin, I feel like I've just been hit by a train, that's what I feel like I've been hit by."

"Well Bludgers are made out of iron," Draco mused. "Anyway, I've brought you some soup. Vegetable. Your friend Issac told me it was your favorite."

Aurelia took the bowl from him and blew on it before she took a spoonful into her mouth.

"Thanks, Draco," Aurelia grinned.

"It's the least I can do, I mean, it was sort of my fault."

"Oh, no it wasn't. Don't even worry about it," Aurelia assured him.

He gave her a small sideways nod and looked at the side of her head.

"Amazing. Not even a bruise. That Madame Pomfrey can perform miracles, eh?"

"I suppose so," she agreed. "So how did the game end?"

"Well, after you scored that spectacular goal," Aurelia blushed. "I caught the snitch and we beat Huffelpuff. Of course, once Hooch saw that you had been hurt, she dismissed the class. Fairly in good timing too, it began to rain as we were walking back to the castle."

Aurelia chuckled a little at the last bit. She had just been thinking before class that the lesson would never be canceled for the rain

"Well, at least we won," she said.

Draco laughed lightly at her statement.

"I think I'd better go now," Draco said, standing up. "I told Hooch I'd tell her how you were."

"Alright," Aurelia began. "Thanks for the friendly talks now and then."

Draco winked at her and left. Aurelia rolled her eyes and finished off her vegetable soup. She figured it was after lunch since Draco had brought her food which means that her classes were over and done with for the day.

"Feeling better dear?" Madame Pomfrey came into her room.

"Much better. Thank you. I was wondering, would it be alright if I left? I feel just fine and I really have a quite a bit to do today," she lied.

She did feel fine but she had absolutely nothing of importance to do, she just hated hospitals or anything remotely similar to hospitals.

"Yes, that would be fine. Just drink down that glass of potion before you go," she gestured to a glass full of misty white liquid and left the room again.

Without a second thought on what it might be, Aurelia drank down the liquid. It tasted horrible.

On her way out of the hospital, Aurelia remembered that she had to be home at midnight tonight. She wondered how she was going to get there. Deciding she might as well ask for permission first, she headed towards the Headmistress' office. She stopped in front of the stone gargoyle, realizing she had no idea what the password was. She cursed quietly to herself and decided to sit on the floor by the entrance until a teacher walked by.

Aurelia must have sat there for a good twenty minutes, thinking about almost nothing.

"What are you doing?" a voice startled.

"Oh, sorry. I was wondering, could you let me in to see Professor McGonagall?" Aurelia asked Professor Lupin.

"Pesky Pixie," Professor Lupin said clearly.

At first, Aurelia looked at him puzzled. Why was he calling her a pixie? Just then, the stone gargoyle began to move, revealing a spiraling staircase and Aurelia understood it was the password Lupin had said.

"Thank you, sir," she smiled and Lupin nodded at her as she began her ascend to the big oak door of the office.

She knocked on the door three times until finally, it swung open.

"Miss Finn, what brings you here?" came McGonagall's voice from the far end of the room.

Aurelia walked up to her desk and stood respectfully in front of her.

"Ma'am, I was wondering. Well, it's just that my father wanted me to--"

"You want to leave today to your home and return to tomorrow promptly at noon?" she asked.

Aurelia looked at her with a confused expression on her face.

"Your father owled me this morning. You're free to go whenever you wish, just so long as you're not walking about the grounds after hours. Just head out to Hogsmeade and you can apparate home from there." she explained calmly.

"Thank you very much, ma'am," Aurelia said and left the room.

She walked back down to the dungeons and into the Slytherin Common Room. There were plenty of people in it relaxing on their free Friday afternoon. She scanned the room looking around for Issac. She spotted him leaning against the wall by the passage to the Boy's Dormitories.

"Look who's alive!" he laughed as he saw Aurelia. She shot him an angry glare and this made him laugh harder. "I'm only joking, how are you feeling?"

"Just fine, thanks for telling Draco about the vegetable soup," Aurelia smiled.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" he asked, puzzled.

Aurelia raised an eyebrow and glanced over in Draco's direction quizzically.

"Whatever. Anyway, I'm actually on my out. Going home for the night." She dropped her voice, "Finally time for that you-know-what."

"Oh, fantastic! Do tell me how that goes! And don't forget to show me, alright?"

"Promise," she grinned. "Well I'm going to go get some things, I'll see you tomorrow."

Aurelia gave her friend a hug and headed to her Dormitory. She changed out of her school robes into black robes with deep purple colored silk on the inside. She pocketed her wand and was on her way.

She gave Issac one last 'see you later' hug and left the Common Room with a small glance at Draco. She continued to walk in a brisk pace out of school grounds, passing many students enjoying their afternoon off. Once she was safely outside the perimeters of the school, Aurelia closed her eyes, concentrating hard. Destination, determination and deliberation, she thought to herself. She concentrated hard on her own home and then finally, turned on her heel and was gone with a loud _crack_.

She fell to the ground with a thud into a place she recognized all too well. The Finn Manor living room. She took in her surroundings. The white leather sofa set, the glass coffee table, the crystal chandelier and crackling stone fireplace. She heard someone in the kitchen and quickly walked there. Her father was sitting drinking a cup of tea and reading the Daily Prophet while their house elf, Tawny, was washing the counter tops.

"Hello Daddy," Aurelia called sweetly.

Her father looked up from his paper and smiled at his daughter.

"Escaped alright?" her father joked.

"Yes, thank you for the release papers," Aurelia chuckled back.

"Are you ready for tonight?"

"As ready and willing as I'll ever be," Aurelia said warmly. Her father nodded. "Is it alright if I go to my room and lay down? I got hit in the head with a Bludger today and the Apparating gave me a migraine."

"You got what?" he exclaimed.

"Don't worry it's fine. I just need to lay down," she assured.

Her father nodded and Aurelia went up to the fourth floor where her room was. It wasn't technically her room. Her room was on the second floor, where the rest of the bedrooms in the house were, the fourth floor was the attic room. No one except for her ever used it, she made it her second bedroom. It's where she went if she wanted to be really alone. Everyone knew that if Aurelia was in the attic, you'd probably get your genitals blown off if you disturbed her.

Aurelia fell asleep for hours. She woke back up when it was dark out. She reached for the clock on her desk and saw that it was a quarter to ten. The tall, slender girl pushed herself out of bed and slumped lazily downstairs. Her father was in the study on the third floor, reading over documents. She decided not to disturb him as she proceeded to bathroom. She took an extremely refreshing shower. She loved being able to stand under the hot water and not worry or care that she needed to hurry up because she needs to leave enough hot water for twenty or some other girls. After about an hour or more, she decided that it was time to get out. She wrapped a towel around her and went to her actual bedroom. This room was noticeably larger. It was about three times the size of her attic room which was very crammed and small (one of the few reasons no one else in the house inhabited it). She rather liked small rooms, this big one made her feel rather small and lost. A little fish in a big pond, if you please.

Aurelia toweled herself dry and cast a Drought spell on her hair. She changed into the black robes that her father had gotten for her especially for this occasion. Hers and her father's were nearly identical except for the small four-cornered star sewn on the inside of her cloak. Aurelia straightened her dark brown hair, letting it fall like silk to her elbows. She engulfed the long lashes circling her deep hazel eyes with black mascara and left her soft, tanned skin untainted with make-up.

She wanted to look both prepared and not overly-eager tonight. She looked at her clock, half past eleven. Almost time, she thought. She went upstairs to find her father still in his study.

"Daddy?" she knocked on the door. Her father looked up at her. "It's almost time. Half past."

"Oh! Merlin's beard, I lost track of time!" he exclaimed, jumping out of his seat. "C'mon, c'mon, cellar."

That was all he needed to say. Aurelia happily proceeded down every flight of stairs the large estate had to offer.

The cellar looked more like a family room, the stone floor wasn't dirty and scratched the way you might expect it to be, instead it was smooth and polished. There was a large rug in the middle of the room with a rather comfortable looking sofa facing a dormant fireplace. The walls hung photos, mostly of Aurelia. As a baby, a toddler, a child and a teenager. Everything up to the day she was leaving for school just four days prior. That was the newest of the pictures. Her dad had taken a photo of Aurelia looking out one of the windows on Platform 9 and ¾. It was her last time boarding the September train to school. She noticed that he had already gotten around to hanging it up. It felt rather eerie have every version of herself staring and waving at her.

At promptly twelve a.m there were loud cracks as people Apparated into the room. The only light in the cellar was emitted from a total of maybe five candles placed around. The poor light made it hard to see who the cloaked figures but she knew oh too well who they were.

She finally realized who one of them was as he boldly was standing in front of the crowd, she bowed low to him in respect.

"My Lord," was the only thing she said.

"Are you prepared?" he hissed.

Aurelia nodded, trying hard to contain the smile that was beginning to dance upon her lips. The man she had been talking to nodded to someone else and they brought something out to her on a pillow. It was a mask. Aurelia couldn't contain it, she grinned widely.

Frightened, she quickly wiped the smile from her face. Contrary to her belief, however, the man didn't seem appalled at all by her expression. He looked rather pleased. She could almost see an approving smile curl his thin lips as well.

She looked at the mask in awe as it was handed to her. She slowly and carefully took it off of the pillow carried by the cringing rat-like man. She couldn't remember the rest of it. All Aurelia could remember was a lot of hot and searing pain.

The next morning she woke up to find herself in her Hogwarts Dormitory. Aurelia was puzzled as to how she had gotten there. She realized soon--by looking at the small clock on her bedside--it wasn't morning, it was just a few minutes past noon. Aurelia groaned at her piercing headache. It was feelings like this that made her want to rip her hair out but deciding on the fact that it would make her headache worse, she did no such thing. Aurelia sat up in her bed with a groan. Still oblivious as to how she got there. She felt a throbbing on her left arm. Aurelia lifted her sleeve and turned her arm over. There, on her inner arm lay a bottle-green tattoo. A skull with a snake protruding from it's mouth. The Dark Mark.

Aurelia smiled.

* * *

**A/N- Did anyone see that coming? I'm sure quite a few of you did, I dropped a thousand and a half hints. Which was my intention, of course. I hope you liked it. I know there is no way you're going to stop reading now. I mean, it's pretty obvious her life is going to be extremely interesting after she becomes a Death Eater, right? Right. OK, well, I guess I'll see you next time! And please please review! It helps motivate me.  
**


	4. New Beginnings

**-4-**  
New Beginnings, Strange Surprises and Dangerous Assignments

* * *

**Summary:** She barely even knew him. Draco Malfoy was just one of those kids she passed in the halls between classes or asked to borrow a piece of parchment from when she had none. Thanks to the Dark Lord, however, Aurelia Finn and Draco Malfoy will soon find out they have a little more than just age and house in common. And maybe a little bit greater of a task than just "that Charms essay due next period" underway.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except my made up character and plot. J.K Rowling owns all else.

**Warnings:** Sexual Situations, Violence, Character Death, Substance Use/ Abuse, Adult Language, Book 7 Disregarded, Book 6 Events Slightly Altered

**A/N:** I would just like to say thank you to Kiyla for my very first review! It encouraged me to actually sit my arse down and write this chapter.

* * *

After two months of being a Death Eater, some people began to worry about Aurelia's strange disappearances. Every other week or so, Aurelia had been summoned to a Death Eater's meeting in various parts of the country.

She could be sitting in a Charms class writing notes about the importance of proper wand movements in a spell or battling to stay awake in a History of Magic class when all of a sudden, her arm experiences an insane tingling sensation and she has to make up an excuse to leave the room. It also tends to be rather difficult for Aurelia to get there and she's usually the last person to. Aurelia has to run all the way off of the grounds without being caught (she'd taken to using a broom) and only then can she Apparate to where she was being summoned.

Many teachers began questioning her as to where she kept going off to and so had her friends. Issac, being the only person that knew of her secret, often had to cover up for her and she could tell that it was wearing her friend out. Lucky for her, though, Issac was a good liar and it paid to have a witness to confirm her alibi.

On Halloween it had been exactly one week and four days since Aurelia was last called to a Death Eater meeting. Rumor had it that the Dark Lord ran into some trouble with the Order of the Phoenix. Aurelia wasn't quite sure what exactly happened.

Aurelia was still new to the Death Eaters and was still very young, according to them. Therefore, while she did attend all the meetings, she didn't have knowledge of everything going on with the group. It was rather exciting though, being the youngest Death Eater. The Dark Lord seemed to have taken a liking to her ambition and the others felt it their duty to raise Aurelia to become powerful.

Her father never seemed to be more proud of his daughter. Having been a Death Eater since before Aurelia was born, he was quite happy to see his only daughter following in his footsteps. Aurelia and her father were always on good terms but ever since Aurelia was inducted in the Death Eaters, he father began paying extra attention her. He sent her almost daily parcels to school with sweets and letters asking how she was doing. He would also do things such as slip her Fire Whiskey filled chocolates or pour Butterbeer into grape juice bottles, writing her that she should go party and live life.

Aurelia couldn't help but feel friendlier towards everyone as well, ironically. She thought becoming a Death Eater would turn her sour and mean but it seemed to lift her mood, especially on days following a Death Eater gathering. Everyone who was pleasant to her she seemed to be extra pleasant back to. In a way, this was a good thing because no one would suspect her of being in league with You-Know-Who if she was so nice.

Aurelia always had to make sure she kept her arm covered well. Her father helped her by sending her parcels of clothes. Long-sleeved shirts, arm warmers etc. No one seemed to really notice her change in wardrobe though. During school hours, she would simply keep her cloak on and when she wore her muggle clothes she dressed regularly as she always would, thankful that it was fall. The only thing that bothered her was when she had a class like Charms or Transfiguration in which the rooms were always hot and stuffy, Aurelia would be just about the only person to never take off her cloak. In Games, she tried to do as little as possible so that she wouldn't get hot and sweaty.

It was a little bit of a challenge but life without risk bored the living hell out of Aurelia anyway.

"Aurelia! If you don't hurry up, I'm going without you!" Issac called from the Common Room.

Aurelia rolled her eyes and yelled that she was coming as she pulled her gray fleece sweater over her head. She always enjoyed dressing in muggle clothes. They were so interesting. All the different styles, colors and combinations of outfits. Not to mention they looked really good on her.

Aurelia, satisfied on her appearance, left her Dormitory and joined Issac in the Common Room.

"Merlin, it's about time! I thought for a moment you just left me to another one of your 'dark' meetings."

"Shh!" Aurelia hushed him. "Are you crazy?! Someone might hear!"

"Relax, unlike you and me, everyone's already gone to Hogsmeade," he whined sarcastically.

"Whatever," she rolled her eyes. "Besides, there are second and first years."

"Meh, they'll get over it," he shrugged.

Aurelia hit his arm playfully and he laughed. Linking their arms, the two of them proceeded out of the school and to Hogsmeade. They walked around all of shops looking at random things. They went into Zonko's Joke Shop where Issac bought a new packet of stink pellets, they stopped by Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop in which Aurelia bought herself a new quill when she remembered that her old one was broken and finally they visited Honeyduke's Sweetshop to stock up on candy. Issac filled his pockets with Pepper Imps, Chocoballs, Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans and Drooble's Best Blowing Gum while Aurelia only bought an Acid Pop to suck on as she was still getting nearly daily packages of sweets from her father.

"Are you all set? Have enough sweets?" Aurelia laughed at the mounds of candy Issac had bought.

"Shut up. Some of us don't have daddy dearest sending us entire boxes every other day," he sneered.

"That's also true but some of us aren't best friends with said persons," she joked. "I do share you know."

Issac just shrugged as he pulled out a light pink Every Flavour Bean.

"Three Broomsticks?" Aurelia suggested shortly.

"Sounds great," he said. Then a look came over his face as if he'd just remembered something. "Oh! I was supposed to stop by Dervish and Banges to buy my cousin a Remembrall. I'll meet you there."

Aurelia shrugged and began heading in the opposite direction, towards the Three Broomsticks. Aurelia had been walking with her head down, watching the movement pattern her feet created as she made her way down the road. She had not really been watching where she was going and, apparently, neither had the person she ran into. They both collided and nearly lost their balance. Aurelia looked up to see a very flustered Draco Malfoy in front of her. She stood still for a moment, unsure of what to do.

Aurelia hadn't spoken to Draco Malfoy in a few weeks now because the last time she did, it didn't end well. Draco had obviously just had another row with his dad and Aurelia just wanted to comfort him.

_"Draco, are you alright?" she asked, concerned because he had seemed a bit distant in all their classes that day._

_"I'm fine" Draco snapped._

_"You seemed troubled today, did you and your dad go at it again?"_

_"Leave me alone," he shooed._

_"Draco," she sat next to him on the ground in front of the Black Lake. "You can tell me, you know. I can help."_

_"I don't need your help."_

_"Well you seem like you need someone's help and I just don't see why it can't be mine," she said in a low voice. "I bet I know quite exactly what you're going through."_

_"Merlin woman!" Draco burst out. "You just can't leave it alone can you?! For Christ's sake! You can drive a person mad! I said I don't need your help that means I don't want your help! So just let it go and leave me alone! I'm obviously not about to tell you what's bothering me because thank you but you don't know what I'm going through! So how about you keep your nose out of my business because you're really starting to tick me off!"_

The blond now stared at her, seeming to be at a loss for words. Not having spoken to each other for over two weeks seemed to put a little bit of awkwardness between them. There wasn't even a "hello" or "you dropped your pencil" or "pass the potatoes" between either of them for seventeen days.

"Erm, I'm sorry," Aurelia finally got out.

"Yeah, me too."

Aurelia nodded and was about to walk off when she felt Draco grab her arm and spin her back around.

"For everything," he added. "I'm sorry for bumping into you but mostly I'm just sorry for yelling at you. I know you had only been trying to help. I know it's a little late, but still."

Aurelia stood for a few seconds drinking in the fact that Draco Malfoy was being nice enough to apologize to her. She nodded with a smile and just as she did so, she felt a prickling on her left arm.

"I have to go," Aurelia said hastily.

"Right. Me too," Draco agreed and they both ran off in different directions.

Turning a corner into a deserted street, Aurelia looked around to be sure no one was watching and Apparated away.

Next moment, she was in a large field. It seemed no one had tended to or even been on this field in a very long time because the grass was extremely long and unkempt. Aurelia was now in her black robes and Death Eater mask.

On her left stood a man whom she knew to be her father. On her right stood someone she didn't recall. It was a man, she could tell by his build and posture, but he was just about four or five inches taller than her, unlike the man that usually stood to her right which was a good ten inches taller. She soon saw that the man which used to occupy Aurelia's right hand, was to the right of the new man next to her.

Any thought or worry of who the new guest may be soon dissipated from Aurelia's mind as the Dark Lord stood before them and began to speak.

"It's been too long, it seems," he cooed to the crowd around him. "Nearly two weeks. I'm sure you've all heard rumors about my encounter with the Order of the Phoenix."

Everyone around her shuddered in disgust at the mention of the name. Aurelia felt a strong rage build up in her at the thought of the Order. Goody-Two-Shoes the lot of them were. Always trying to kill off the Death Eaters and, most importantly, the Dark Lord. It pained her.

"The rumors, of course, are true. I was in an uncomfortable encounter with the Order. But as you all can see, I've come out unharmed!"

The circle around her let out small laughs of pleasure and interest. Aurelia chuckled along feeling content with the thought of Order members suffering at the hands of the Dark Lord. What fools.

"I do have a small bit of business I want to attend to before we continue. We have a new member in our midst!" Aurelia assumed it was the man next to her. "However, with the heaviness of the previous events, he was failed to have received the…proper initiation. So, Mr. Malfoy, if you please."

The man next to her stepped closer to the Dark Lord and bowed respectfully. Malfoy? Aurelia thought. It couldn't be. The Dark Lord lifted the man's mask to rest on the top of his head, making his hood drop and Aurelia saw the unmistakable white-blond hair of Draco Malfoy. Believably, Aurelia wasn't surprised.

"I think that instead of having Lucius do the honors perhaps we should have our preceding new member, induct Draco in properly." Aurelia's heart sank as she knew he was talking about her. "Miss Finn."

Although Aurelia couldn't see it, Draco's eyes got extremely wide at the mention of her name. He couldn't believe that all this time, he had been pushing her away and not wanting to even be her friend because he thought she was too "nice" and here she stood, a Death Eater even before him!

Aurelia walked up next to Draco and bowed to the Dark Lord. He removed Aurelia's mask in the same way he had Draco's. He motioned for Draco and Aurelia to turn and face each other. They did as they were told and Aurelia gave Draco a sarcastic "fancy meeting you here" look. He simply looked shocked beyond all reason.

"Seems like you two know each other," the Dark Lord grinned as he saw the two exchange looks. "Maybe your girlfriend will go easy on you, Mr. Malfoy."

"Not to be rude, sir," Draco said carefully. "But her, my girlfriend? As if."

The Dark Lord simply gave Draco a devilish smirk. Aurelia was enraged.

"You know, I was going to go easy on you," she whispered but just barely loud enough for everyone to hear. Then she raised her voice as she stepped back, wand pointed at Draco. "Welcome to the Death Eaters, Mr. Malfoy."

"Hey, what are you--"

"Crucio!" Aurelia yelled, cutting him off with an intense pain that escalated through his entire body.

Everyone around them watched as Draco screamed and writhed in pain, a devious smile planted on Aurelia's face. Suddenly, You-Know-Who began to clap slowly. If one didn't know better they could have guessed that it was going to be one of those things that started out in a slow dramatic clap and built into thunderous applause. No such thing happened. Oh no. Instead, everyone in the crowd began to mimic the clapping. It sounded like a chant only not a single person spoke. The clapping lasted for about a minute, Draco's screams still heard above the noise. Then, as quickly as it began, the clapping stopped and Aurelia removed the curse from Draco.

Draco began to collect himself as Aurelia bowed low and slowly stepped backwards into her place next to her father, pulling down her mask and picking up her hood. Once Draco was able to stand without whimpering, he too bowed to the Dark Lord covered himself and stepped back into place next to Aurelia and his own father.

"Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful," he applauded. "Very well done Miss Finn." Aurelia smiled. "Now, the other reason I called you here today was because I have a task that needs to be complete. I need two of my faithful followers to go on a journey to meet with the Dementors. The Head Dementor is expecting someone this weekend. So, who would be up to the challenge?"

He scanned the crowd quickly, waiting for a victim. Aurelia saw this as an absolutely perfect chance to prove herself to the Dark Lord.

"I would be willing to do it, My Lord," Aurelia spoke proudly. He quickly snapped his head around to look at her and grinned.

"Excellent, Miss Finn," he hissed. "And I'm sure Mr. Malfoy would be more than happy to accompany you."

Aurelia could almost sense Draco's mouth dropping open underneath his mask. Aurelia was smirking.

"Dismissed!" he barked. "Finn! Malfoy! I want the four of you staying behind."

At his words, everyone except for Aurelia, Draco and their fathers Dissapparated and were out of sight.

"Aurelia, Draco you two will be leaving tonight. I am giving each of you an hour to go home and pack in which time both of your fathers will be writing to your school and informing your Headmistress that you will be leaving until midnight on Sunday. Understood?" he barked.

All four of them nodded and he motioned for them all to leave. With one final bow, they were gone.

Aurelia and her father Apparated back to their Manor. Aurelia was back in her jeans and fleece sweater. Her father was booming with pride as he embraced his daughter in a heartfelt hug. Aurelia hugged him back and he sent her off to her room to pack.

Aurelia picked out two muggle outfits, two sets of robes, a bag of make up, a hairbrush, a toothbrush and paste, shower things, some muggle and wizard money and undergarments. She cast an Undetectable Extension Charm on her knapsack and stuffed all of her things into it.

Five minutes later, the doorbell rang. Aurelia rushed to the front door and opened it. In the doorway stood Draco Malfoy, carrying a knapsack of his own and looking quite impatient.

"Well, are you coming or not?" he groaned.

"Of course I'm coming!" Aurelia defended.

"Let's get going then!"

"Daddy! I'm leaving! I'll see you on Sunday!" she yelled into the house, hoping her father would hear.

"Good luck sweetheart!" she heard him call back.

Draco rolled his eyes and the two of them proceeded down the front walk of Aurelia's home.

"How exactly are we getting there" Draco inquired.

"In style," Aurelia smirked.

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**A/N: Chapter four is finito! I wanted to keep going but a. I thought "in style" was a pretty cool way to end and b. I'm pretty tired as it's 1 am. Also, I've had a thought...I'm going to hold a review contest. Everyone review my story now and whoever's review I like the best, I'm going to put them in the story! So you better hurry up and get to it! Go Go Go!**


	5. Dangerous Assignments

**-5-  
**Dangerous Assignments, Surprising News and Cover-Up Stories

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**Summary:** She barely even knew him. Draco Malfoy was just one of those kids she passed in the halls between classes or asked to borrow a piece of parchment from when she had none. Thanks to the Dark Lord, however, Aurelia Finn and Draco Malfoy will soon find out they have a little more than just age and house in common. And maybe a little bit greater of a task than just "that Charms essay due next period" underway.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except my made up character and plot. J.K Rowling owns all else.

**Warnings:** Sexual Situations, Violence, Character Death, Substance Use/ Abuse, Adult Language, Book 7 Disregarded, Book 6 Events Slightly Altered

**A/N: **I was rather disappointed when no one reviewed my story last chapter. So either you're all too lazy and don't want to be in the story or no one is reading this and I'm wasting my time. I'm really considering just stopping this story now. I can do better things with my time than write for people that don't even seem to want to give me feedback. I wasn't even going to post this until I actually got some participants in the review contest but I just had to get these ideas out before I lost them. Honestly though, if people don't start reviewing I'm going to assume no one is reading this and delete the story all together. Anyway, here's chapter 5. Enjoy and review!

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"You have got to be joking."

"About this?" Aurelia smiled pointing at the black BMW car in front of them. "Of course I am!"

"Oh thank Merlin! I thought you were about to suggest we go on this mission in a car," Draco sighed heavily.

"We _are_ going in a car, silly!" she mocked. "Just not that one. Heavens no! I got that car last year. Terribly outdated model."

Draco looked at her stunned. She talked like a muggle. Suddenly the doors of the "garage" opened up and in it stood a gleaming silver car. It had a black roof which made Draco wonder as to why it was different than the rest of the heap of metal.

"Here's my baby," Aurelia cooed to the thing. "Brand new 1997 Porsche. 986 Boxster. Even has this thing--oh, what did that muggle call it?--a CD player! You put something called a 'compact disk' into it and it's supposed to play music. Best part of it though, it has a convertible top."

She tapped her hand on the black roof. Draco shook his head at the scene and muttered something that sounded like "loony muggle gizmos" through his teeth.

"Do you actually know how to drive this thing?" Draco asked, sounding kind of frightened.

"Of course!" she assured but there was a glint of uncertainty in her voice. "Besides, unless we come dangerously close to one of those plane things, I'm sure we'll be safe. Unless the clouds protest to us crashing into them. I mean, this is a _flying _car, after all."

Draco looked a little relieved to hear she hadn't completely lost it and gotten herself mixed up in muggle things. He examined the car more closely, wondering how in the world it worked. He never understood muggles and their ridiculous inventions.

"Look, I know you aren't happy with the arrangement but seeing as we can't get where we're going by Portkey or Apparition and riding a broom that long way would be outright ridiculous, this is the only other option," she said, trying to make him see reason.

Draco sighed heavily as he looked at the thing again. The lights in the front stared at him like eyes. It looked like it would jump to life and eat him. Draco pondered what Aurelia had just told him and decided she was right. Defeated, he threw his hands in the air and told her he'd do it. Aurelia smiled and climbed into the right side, throwing her bag onto the backseat. Draco followed her and seated himself next to her on the left.

"Alright, now, let's see how this blasted contraption works," Aurelia wondered.

She pulled out a very thin round object with a small whole in the middle. She looked at it curiously for a while as though trying to recall something and then put the object into the car. Suddenly, as though out of no where, music began playing.

"_Oops, I did it again. I played with your heart, got lost in the game. Oh baby, baby...,_" the music played.

Draco and Aurelia both looked around them with puzzled expressions on their faces. Aurelia shook her head, shrugged her shoulders and started the car.

"Dreadful music," she groaned but let it play, obviously amused by it. Draco looked at her warningly as he realized she was about to drive this car the muggle way. Aurelia winked at him and hit the gas. They were off.

"Are you alright?" Aurelia laughed at Draco who was clinging to the sides of his chair as though holding on for dear life.

"Don't you want to slow down a little bit?" he gasped.

"Draco, relax. I'm going fifty kilometers an hour. That's about half as fast as you go on your broom," she said, becoming irritated.

"This is no broom, Finn, and if you failed to notice," he started getting louder. "We're on the bloody ground!"

"I know! Think logically! Did you really expect me to just lift off in the middle of a muggle population?"

"Whatever. All I know is that if you don't get us both killed by the end of this, _I'll_ have to kill you myself," he said coldly. "By the way, don't you need some kind of a license to drive these things?"

"Oh. Yeah, don't worry though, I'm sure we'll be fine."

"So I have a question," Draco was relaxing a little more now. "How come you never told me you were a Death Eater?"

"How come you never asked?"

"That's not exactly something you ask a person. Besides, I'm sure you knew about my father and my family and such! You could have at least told me," Draco said a glint of anger in his eyes.

"If you had ever bothered to talk to me, or at least hold up your end of a conversation then maybe I would have," Aurelia said as she turned a corner.

"Well I never really felt the need to! We've never really talked before this term, which is when you started becoming nice. So, frankly, I had no desire to talk to you," he scorned.

"I wasn't being _nice_, Malfoy. I was in a good mood," she snapped. "Or do you not even know what that is?"

"What the bloody hell is that supposed to mean?" Draco asked open-mouthed.

"Christ, Malfoy, you're just like your father. Both of you are arrogant pricks with hearts that make ice cubes look like a campfire."

"Don't you dare say a word against my father!" Draco began to defend. "WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!"

"WHO DO I THINK I AM?! I _THINK_ I'M AURELIA LEANDRA FINN. AS IN, I'M BETTER THAN YOU AND YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY. I'M RICHER, MY BLOOD IS PURER AND UNTAINTED _AND_ MY FATHER HAPPENS TO BE IN HIGHER RANKS WITH THE DARK LORD THAN YOURS WILL EVER BE, MAKING_ ME_ BETTER THAN _YOU_," Aurelia blew up at a rather flustered looking blonde.

"WHAT! IS THAT WHAT YOU THINK!?" Draco suddenly realized that his voice was shockingly booming loud and began to speak at a more respectable level. "What makes you think your blood is purer? What makes you think your father is in high ranks than mine? Hm?"

"You want to know?" Draco nodded his head. "Well, let's make the first one quite clear. I am not related to blood traitors and half-bloods, for one. And for--"

"WHAT! In what way am I related to blood traitors and half bloods?!" Draco cut her off.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Sirius Black the cousin to your aunt, Bellatrix Lestrange?" Aurelia cocked an eyebrow and Draco lowered his head in shame. "Exactly. Now, as I was saying, the second part of your question: What makes me think my father is in higher ranks than yours? Simple. When and _if_ the Dark Lord is defeated, do you know who will be taking his place? Me."

Draco's eyes widened in shock. Utter and complete shock. Aurelia broke into a smirk as she saw his expression out of the corner of her eye. She knew she had finally put Draco in his place.

"B-but h-how," he began to stutter, then, realizing how he was acting, straightened up. "How did this happen?"

"My father discussed it and I was allowed to do it, under one slight condition," Aurelia said the last bit with uneasiness.

"What's the condition?" Draco asked, afraid of what the answer might be.

Aurelia sat silent for a moment. She looked as though she didn't want to say it out loud. She hadn't come to terms with this agreement herself just yet. Aurelia took a deep breath and finally replied,

"I have to carry his child."

"WHAT!"

"Well, think about it, Malfoy!" Aurelia stepped in quickly. "You-Know-Who is the last living ancestor of Salazar Slytherin! You don't think that if by the mis fortunate mistake he died, he would want that line of wizards coming to an end?"

"Yes, but you're actually going to do it?!" Draco asked, still in disbelief.

"Of course I am! If I really have to! I mean, nothing is really officially decided just yet. This is a last resort. There's an incredibly strong possibility that we're going to win this war and the Dark Lord will gain immortality. However, on the slight chance that the horcruxes are destroyed, I have to step up and do this."

"The what?" Draco raised his eyebrow in curiosity.

"The horcruxes," Aurelia sighed, seeing that she was going to have to explain this. "When he was still young, about our age, the Dark Lord--or Tom Riddle as he was still called by all but his followers--divided up his soul. It's a very advanced and dangerous bit of magic. Most wizards that attempt to do it, and there are very few, usually don't try more than one or two extra pieces. Tom Riddle, being the brilliant man that he was, divided his soul into seven different pieces. Each piece of his soul was contained in different objects. One of which has been destroyed for quite a few years now thanks to that bloody Potter. Speaking of whom, that's why the Dark Lord didn't die completely that night sixteen years ago when he tried to kill Potter.

"From what I know, Potter didn't die because when his blasted mother gave her life for him, it rose up some old magic that protected him. The Dark Lord couldn't touch the boy. The Avada Kedavra curse was rebounded onto the Dark Lord. He didn't die completely, though, because not all of his being was there to be killed. He was barely alive because those other pieces of his soul were still out there. From what I was told, Potter and Dumbledore had been in search of the Horcruxes last year. I don't know how many they destroyed, if they did destroy any at all. I do know, though, that Potter is probably still looking for them without Dumbledore. Thanks to you and Snape, of course, it's probably a lot harder for him without the old man by his side, which buys us time. So the risk of it all is Potter finding the last of the Horcruxes and killing off the Dark Lord which will be very possible once the last of his soul is gone. There was a prophecy, in it was said that 'neither can live while the other survives'. It meant that one of them is going to kill each other off in the end. As far as I'm concerned it means it can't be either of us to kill Potter as well as it can't be any other wizard to kill the Dark Lord. They'd be fools to try, in my opinion, probably end up killing themselves in the process.

"Nevertheless, the whole point is, that if the Dark Lord learns of the last Horcrux being destroyed, he thinks there isn't much hope for his survival after that. So, if that happens, I'm going to have to conceive his child before it may be too late. If our side succeeds though, I've no idea what I'm going to do with the child, that will be for the Dark Lord to decide. He might still want me to have it. After all, an heir to the Dark Lord, how exciting is that?"

Draco looked at her, drinking in every word. His eyebrows furrowed and his lips pursed in concentration.

"So, does that mean you'll have to--you know," he couldn't say the words.

"Oh, Merlin, no!" Aurelia jumped as she understood what he said. "No, no. It will all be done magically."

Draco let out a sigh. The thought of the Dark Lord having sexual intercourse with Aurelia wasn't exactly an image he wanted to have in his mind. He shuddered slightly. Suddenly, before either of them could discuss the fact any farther, there came a loud noise and flashing lights behind them. Aurelia looked into her rearview mirror and saw a police car driving up.

"Bloody hell," Aurelia groaned and pulled over to the left side of the road.

"What are you doing!" Draco exclaimed.

"Well I'm not going to run!"

"Why not!? You could have just turned a corner and flown out of sight!" Draco said hurriedly as though suggesting she still had a chance to do that.

"Shut up and let me handle this," she hushed as the cop walked up to the window which Aurelia lowered.

"Good day miss," he said politely and Aurelia nodded a hello. "You ran a stop sign back there. I'm going to need to see your license and registration."

The police officer eyed Aurelia and Draco questionably. Draco still had a little bit of a shocked look on his face from all the information that Aurelia had thrown at him. There were two small knapsacks in the back seat and there was a very low hum of "The Call" by The Backstreet Boys coming from the car speakers which neither Draco nor Aurelia noticed until just then. Draco was scared now. He knew Aurelia didn't have a license and he had no intention of going to muggle prison.

Aurelia looked like she was rummaging around for her license but, soon, Draco saw that she was doing no such thing. She saw her take a thin piece of wood from the back and grip it firmly in her hand. Aurelia turned back to an inquisitive officer, smiling politely. Suddenly, she whipped her wand towards him and before he could say another word shouted,

"Obliviate!"

The police officer had a dazed look in his eyes for a moment and Draco was purely amazed at Aurelia's quick wit.

"Thank you officer, I'm sure we're be able to find it from here," Aurelia thanked the muggle as though he had just given them directions. "Thank you again for your help."

Aurelia rolled up her window and with a last wave, left a very confused muggle cop standing on the road. Once they were down the street, Draco began laughing.

"That was brilliant!" he cheered. "Couldn't have thought of anything better myself!"

"Of course you couldn't have," Aurelia gleamed as she proceeded driving.

Ten minutes later, Aurelia pulled into a lonely country road. She stopped the car and turned it off.

"What are you doing?" Draco asked as Aurelia got out of the car.

Aurelia turned around a few times then got back in.

"Just making sure no one was around," she replied and started the car up again.

This time as she drove, Draco could feel them slowly lifting from the ground. Aurelia pushed a button on the dashboard that Draco guessed to be the Invisibility. They flew high into the clouds and soon the ground beneath them looked like a board game. Aurelia pushed another button and leaned back comfortably in her seat, letting go of the steering wheel. Draco was getting used to the car, especially now that it was off the ground.

"What if you want to get married?" Draco asked suddenly.

"What?" Aurelia asked, off-guard and oblivious to what he was talking about.

"With the 'carrying the Dark Lord's baby' thing. What if you want to get married?"

"Well," Aurelia started, thinking about it. "Whoever I choose to marry will definitely understand. I mean, I'm obviously not going to marry someone not on our side. So, with that, I'm thinking it'll all work out. Besides, I'm sure every guy on our side would be more than happy to be a father--or step father if you think about it-- to the Dark Lord's son and Heir of Slytherin. Don't you agree?"

"Yeah," he said dreamily. "I mean, I'm sure they would."

Aurelia cocked an eyebrow. Soon, Aurelia and Draco began to get very tired and figured it was about time to stop somewhere for the night. They landed in a secluded area and drove the rest of the way into a small town. Aurelia guessed they were probably somewhere near the crossing to Ireland. Ever since the Dementors turned against the Ministry they had moved their location from the North Sea to the Atlantic Ocean, on the other side of their neighboring country. This meant they had to pass through Ireland first.

Draco and Aurelia pulled the car up in front of a small Inn on what looked to be the outskirts of a city. Draco grimaced at the situation to which Aurelia told him that if was going to be a Death Eater, he'd better get used to places like this. The muggles that walked by looked at the car Aurelia and Draco stepped out of with wide eyes. Apparently, most of them were too poor to afford grand luxuries such as a Porsche.

"And what can I do for you today?" asked an overly-polite muggle woman at the front desk.

"Well, I don't know. I think my car needs oil, my feet could do with a good massage and I'm somewhat craving Norwegian chocolate," Aurelia replied sarcastically. The muggle woman behind the desk looked at her oddly. "Well Christ, you asked me what you can do for me at an _Inn_. It was a ridiculous question so I answered ridiculously. Now I would like a room if you offer that here at your _Inn_."

Aurelia heard Draco cough behind her, he seemed to be holding back a very loud laugh. The woman just huffed annoyingly and handed them a room key, asking for them to sign in. Aurelia signed under the name "Shela Rhodes" and dragged Draco out of the lobby. Once they were out of sight--but not particularly out of earshot--Draco let out the laugh he'd been longing to release. Aurelia grinned as she unlocked the door to their room. Two beds. Thank God, Aurelia thought. She was afraid the woman thought they were together and gave them a one-bed room.

"OK, let's get a few things straight, so we have a story in case questions arise," Aurelia said to Draco as she locked the door behind her. "You're my boyfriend. We're traveling to Ireland to meet my parents. My name, as I signed in at the front desk, is Shela Rhodes. Your name is Michael Ray. We live in Manchester. We met on summer holiday two years ago in Paris. My favorite color violet. Yours is I'm guessing green. If it's not, it is now. We're both twenty-three. I'm a secretary at the Joyya Law Office and you work at the Lloyds TSB Bank. I'm not Irish. I'm English and one-quarter Scottish on my father's side. My parents moved to Ireland because they felt like it. My mother is retired, she used to be a Math teacher and my father is Botanist. Your parents live in Surrey. They are both chemical engineers. We moved in together three months ago. Neither of us are very good cooks so we like to eat out and our sex life is quite fantastic but we don't want kids until we've been married a few years. Got all that?"

Draco looked like he might drool.

"You've thought this out," Draco stated.

"Yes, intensely. I knew you wouldn't bother. These muggles are very chatty and they always ask minuscule things about people in the most annoying ways. Especially people in a small town like this. We need to lay low," she stated matter-of-factly.

"Alright, I just have a question about that last bit," Draco smirked, Aurelia eyed him. "The part about our sex life. Want to get started on that, to make our story more believable?" Aurelia simply groaned in disgust and locked herself inside the bathroom. "I'll take that as a maybe."

The next morning was a tiring one. Aurelia woke with a small pain in her neck from the uncomfortable position she had slept in. She was half-sitting when she fell asleep. Aurelia had been thinking about what would happen when they got to the Dementors. She kept wondering what it was the Dark Lord wanted from them. It could have just been a regular visit but she wasn't sure. She also wondered how Issac was doing, trying make up stories about her disappearance. She wondered how McGonagall was reacting to Draco and Aurelia being gone. She knew that the old hag would start to raise question as to why both of their fathers wanted them out of school for the weekend. She also wondered if Draco was as excited about all of this as she was. Being a Death Eater. Being the youngest Death Eaters probably since ever. With that, her thoughts quickly turned to the war. She wondered if Potter was any closer to finding the Horcruxes and the horrible things that would come along with it. She knew that if Potter succeed, things would be very different. If the Horcruxes were destroyed, she would have to carry the Dark Lord's baby and if the Dark Lord fell at the hands of Potter that she would have to take his place. She didn't want that. A part of her was excited at the thought but then she thought of the sacrifices. She knew she--they all--would lose the Dark Lord. She knew that if she took his place she would have to be the new Dark Lord and she would become the one everyone feared and few respected. She would be the one who's name everyone in the wizarding world didn't dare speak. She would be the one that would have to lead all of the Death Eaters and Dark Creatures into a new war one day. All this, while raising the Heir of Slytherin.

All these and other thoughts clouded Aurelia's mind for a long time before she fell asleep. Now, sitting up in bed, rubbing the kink in her neck, the thoughts all came flooding back. This kind of worrying and stressing at such a young age could make a person lose their mind.

Draco awoke while Aurelia was in the shower. He reached inside knapsack and found some parchment, a quill and a bottle of black ink. He sat on a small table in the corner of the room and began writing a letter to his mother. Draco was just finishing up his letter when Aurelia came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped tightly around her.

"What are you doing?" Aurelia asked, when she caught site of him.

"Writing a letter to my mother," Draco said plainly.

"Oh no you most certainly are not!" Aurelia warned and snatched the parchment out of his hand. "We cannot be sending owls! We can't even send muggle post! No! As of right now, Draco Malfoy and Aurelia Finn do not exist. Period."

She ripped Draco's letter to shreds and threw them in the garbage bin by the door. Draco glared at her as she reached inside her knapsack for clothes. Aurelia walked back into the bathroom and came out ten minutes later to see Draco sitting on the bed with his arms crossed squarely across his chest.

"Something wrong, _honey_?" she asked, stretching out the word 'honey' in a mocking tone. Draco just continued to glare. "Look, don't bite my head off because I'm the only one who's actually using it around here. If you haven't got enough common sense, then it's not my problem."

Draco shook his head and walked past her into the bathroom. He took a quick shower and changed into his muggle clothes. When he came out, Aurelia was sitting at the table Draco had occupied earlier and was writing what seemed to be a letter.

"I thought you said no letters," Draco hissed from the bathroom doorway.

"I'm not writing a letter," Aurelia mumbled not turning around or looking up. "I'm writing a journal entry of our progress."

"What progress?" Draco raised an eyebrow and Aurelia turned around.

"That we've made it to the coast, spent the night in a small muggle Inn in a little village, our cover-up story and the time we woke up and hope to continue our journey," Aurelia counted on her fingers. "All these things need to be taken into account. The Dark Lord needs to know exactly what happened."

Draco looked at her with his mouth slightly opened. He was so surprised at how put together she was about all of this. She was so careful and well prepared. She seemed to have_ thought _of everything and she seemed to be taking _care_ of everything. Draco felt quite useless, actually.

Aurelia finished what she was writing, folded the parchment up and stuffed it into the depths of her knapsack. Once all of their things were packed up and they were ready to go, Aurelia and Draco left the room, locking it behind them. When they got to the lobby, they saw that a different woman now sat behind the desk.

"Good morning, checking out?" the muggle said happily. Wonderful, another peppy-happy Inn Keeper, Aurelia thought. "I'll just need your name and room key."

"Shela Rhodes," Aurelia said clearly as she handed her a key with the number 14 printed clearly on the key chain next to it.

The muggle woman checked off Aurelia's--Shela's--name once she paid and the two of them left without a word to anyone. Aurelia got into the car and thought that she was going to be able to escape the muggles when two women walked up to her and leaned down by the window.

"Hello, hello," one of them chirped happily. Aurelia groaned. "Come on now, don't be a stranger."

Aurelia knew better than to deny village house wives, so she stepped out of her car and looked pleadingly at Draco who came to her side.

"Well, who are you two young kids?" the other woman asked happily as though she had never seen strangers before in her life.

"Erm, my name is Shela and this is my boyfriend Michael," Aurelia said reluctantly.

"Oh! How very, very wonderful to meet you," she chirped, Aurelia winced. "I'm Lucinda but you can call me Lucy and this Cheryl."

Aurelia nodded to both of them and nudged Draco who said hello.

"Won't you come have a cup of tea?" the woman called Cheryl asked.

"Oh no, thank you," Aurelia refused nicely. "We really must be going. We're going to visit my parents in Ireland so we really don't have much time to stay."

"Oh nonsense. Come on in," Lucy insisted.

"No, really. We really should be going," Draco joined in. Then, to Aurelia's surprise, he wrapped his arms around her waist and in a semi-quiet whisper said, "Shela, please? I was thinking we could get there early. Give us a little more time to--"

Draco nibbled her earlobe and kissed her neck making the two women giggle.

"Well, we'll just let you two be on your way then," Lucy smiled. "Come on, Cheryl."

Draco was just about to come into contact with Aurelia lips when the two women turned a corner and were out of site. Draco quickly let her go and went to sit back in the car as if nothing happened. Aurelia stood there, stunned. What the bloody hell just happened? she thought with her mouth slightly open. Aurelia walked back to her seat and started the car. They began rolling down the street towards the place they had landed the car last night. Aurelia did everything without uttering a word or even glancing at Draco. She got onto the quiet road, looked around, turned on the Invisibility and lifted the car high into the air. They were well above the clouds when Aurelia spoke.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL WAS THAT?!"

"What was what?" Draco asked, startled at her sudden outburst.

"Why in fuck's name did you kiss me?!"

"I was just trying to get rid of those two annoying little twits," he shrugged. "It worked, didn't it?"

"Yes, it worked! Congratulations! Don't ever do it again!"

Draco rolled his eyes and had a smirk planted firmly on his face. Aurelia simply crossed her arms and let out an exasperated sigh.

"Don't be mad at me! You're the one that made that stupid cover-up story! I was just playing the part!"

"Whatever, Malfoy," she said maliciously and drove in silence.

* * *

**A/N: Mmkayyy so there you go. I hope you liked this chapter because I most certainly did. I actually didn't plan any of this past the "why didn't you ever tell me you were a death eater" discussion. The "carrying the Dark Lord's child" and "taking the Dark Lord's place" bit came to me suddenly and I sort of wasn't even thinking when I wrote it. That's good though I guess. I won't have writer's block for a while, that's for sure. The review contest is still on so RREEVVIIEEWW! Thanks :)**


	6. CoverUp Stories

**-6-  
**Cover-Up Stories, Cold Meetings and Unspoken Grudges

* * *

**Summary:** She barely even knew him. Draco Malfoy was just one of those kids she passed in the halls between classes or asked to borrow a piece of parchment from when she had none. Thanks to the Dark Lord, however, Aurelia Finn and Draco Malfoy will soon find out they have a little more than just age and house in common. And maybe a little bit greater of a task than just "that Charms essay due next period" underway.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except my made up character and plot. J.K Rowling owns all else.

**Warnings:** Sexual Situations, Violence, Character Death, Substance Use/ Abuse, Adult Language, Book 7 Disregarded, Book 6 Events Slightly Altered

* * *

Draco and Aurelia flew in near silence for the rest of the day. There were a few occasions when Aurelia asked Draco if he was hungry or needed to use the toilet, he always refused so they made no stops. Aurelia couldn't help but shake the feeling that something was wrong with Draco or maybe something was wrong with her.

It was nearly nighttime when Aurelia decided they should land for a bit. Coming to a stop on a small dirt road, they both got out of the car to stretch. Aurelia didn't dare take the Invisibility off of the car incase any muggles wandered by. And, at the moment, exactly that happened.

"Oi! What are you two doing here?" a man came walking cautiously toward them.

Aurelia and Draco discreetly made their way around the car and stood in front of it so the muggle wouldn't stumble upon the invisible vehicle.

"Nothing, we just…were taking a walk," Aurelia said.

"I've never seen you two around here before," the man eyed them.

"No, we're just passing through. On the way to my parent's. We've been driving for hours and wanted to stretch our legs," Aurelia continued, not completely lying.

"Oh, well alright then, you can't be too sure nowadays," the man sighed.

"What do you mean?" Draco asked quizzically.

"There's a warning across the whole country to watch out for suspicious persons. Says there's a bunch of killers on the loose."

"What!" Aurelia cried and the muggle man simply nodded.

Aurelia glanced sideways at Draco and he understood what she was thinking. She stepped closer to him to make it look like she was scared and wanted protection from her boyfriend. Draco, realizing what she was doing, put his arm around her and stroked her hair. Aurelia had to fight the urge to raise her eyebrows at Draco.

"Would you two like to come have some tea?" the man offered. "I feel bad for scaring you."

"Sure, we'd love to," Aurelia accepted before Draco had a chance to protest.

The man nodded and motioned for them to follow him in the direction he came from.

"What are you doing?" Draco mouthed to Aurelia.

"I'm hungry," she whispered back.

Draco rolled his eyes but didn't argue because he was rather hungry himself. As they followed the muggle to his country house just down the road, Aurelia looked up at the sky and saw that it was getting dark. She knew they wouldn't be able to stay long if they wanted to make good timing.

They soon settled themselves onto a couch in the old man's living room. It was a cozy little home. By the looks of it, Aurelia guessed he lived alone. Soon, the man brought out cups of tea and small sandwiches.

"So, whereabouts are you two headed?" the man asked as he comforted himself in a seat across the table from them.

"To my parents," Aurelia smiled at Draco who still had his arm around her. "My boyfriend Michael is meeting them for the first time."

"Is he now? Well, let me tell you, this will be a very eventful time for you two," the man chuckled. "Where are you lads coming in from?"

"Manchester," Draco said suddenly, making Aurelia smile that he remembered.

"In England?" the man raised an eyebrow and they both nodded. "Far."

"Very," Draco agreed with a sigh.

"You two been together long?"

"Erm, nearly two years." Aurelia said, careful not to answer to quickly because that would make it look rehearsed.

"That's beautiful," the man smiled.

"I was wondering, could you tell us a little more about those killer warning you mentioned? I wouldn't ask but it troubles me," Aurelia said politely.

"Oh. Right. Well, it came over all the radios and television stations yesterday," the man began and Aurelia and Draco pretended to understand that. "All the newspapers as well. Lots of talk about these people that escaped from God-knows where. Said that everyone in Great Britain and Ireland might be in danger of these fugitives. They're supposed to be a bunch of people in their thirties and forties, maybe older. Reports said they might be dressed funny, God only knows what that means. Probably some kind of cult.

"Anyway, we're all supposed to be careful of strangers and such. I think any killers would be damn stupid to just wander into a town and start killing people off. So, I'm not too worried."

Aurelia and Draco faked uneasy looks. Both of them had internal grins underneath the scared faces. They also knew all too well that Death Eaters would do nothing less than to wander into a town and start killing people off.

"That's terribly frightening," Aurelia said slowly. "I'm sure you're right though. They'd be damn fools to just wander around killing people. Probably best not to worry."

Aurelia knew better than to say something that would put the muggle on his guard. Best to just make it easier for the Death Eaters incase they came around. The three of them switched the topic to Draco and Aurelia's relationship and once they finished their tea, they were more than glad to leave.

"Thank you so much for your hospitality. We really must be off, though," Aurelia said, standing up. "My parents will be expecting us. You wouldn't happen to have any idea as to how long it would take us to get to the coast, would you?"

"Not long, half an hour, maybe. You're very close," the man, whom they learned to be named Jacobb Reynolds, told them.

"Oh fantastic! We'll be just on time. Thank you very much Mr. Reynolds," Aurelia smiled and her and Draco left with a final goodbye.

Draco and Aurelia walked in the direction of the town and once they were out sight, Apparated back to the car. The two of them quickly climbed into the car so as not to be seen and sighed in relief.

"That was bloody excruciating," Draco groaned once they were in the safety of the Porsche.

"I hate muggles. He wasn't completely useless, though," Aurelia said, making Draco turn to her. "You heard what he said? There are warnings out for us. It would be rather a good idea to tell our lot about this, don't you think?"

"I'm sure they'll know by now. As he said, it's been all over the newspapers and whatever else," Draco shrugged. "Besides, we're not supposed to be sending post."

Aurelia nodded then started reaching inside her knapsack.

"What are you looking for?"

"Robes. We should probably change. We're nearly at the coast so there won't be stopping anymore. We should be there in another hour," Aurelia said as she pulled out her black robes.

Draco agreed and found his as well. Aurelia hung her cloak in between them so they could both change without seeing each other naked. Aurelia caught herself wondering what it looked like on the other side of that cloak. She quickly shook the thought and finished dressing. Once Draco told her he was done as well, she put on her cloak and they were off.

It was dark now and Aurelia looked at the clock on the dashboard. It was half past nine when they began flying over the Ocean. After another half hour, their destination came into view. It looked very similar to Azkaban. It was a small island, just large enough to hold the building towering above the dark waters.

As they began to get closer, Aurelia started to feel cold. I feeling of emptiness came over her. She felt alone and as though she was never going to smile or see the sun again. Every inch of her being wanted to swerve the car she was driving into the water to end her pain but before she acted on her thoughts, a warm hand touched her cold one.

"You have to fight it," came a comforting voice.

The voice and touch of the boy sitting next to her made her feel warmer. She began to think of all the happy things about him. The way his white-blonde hair whipped around his ears in the wind. The way his silver eyes sparkled with pride of himself when he did something good. The way he held her tight when they pretended to be a couple in front of the muggles. The way his lips sent shivers over her entire body when he had kissed her neck that day in the village.

Aurelia landed the car and stepped out of it, into the cold. She walked around to the doors of the looming building and knocked loudly with the silver Dark Mark-shaped knocker. The doors swung open slowly, throwing more cold and desolation at their faces. Without thinking, Aurelia took the hand of her escort. She felt the cold waver.

Aurelia and Draco walked into a closed room. All the coldness and depression was gone as though the room were Dementor-proof. Once the dark feelings were gone from Aurelia, she quickly snapped her hand out of Draco's grip.

"Sorry," she muttered but he didn't reply.

One of the walls were glass, on the other side of the glass was another room and she saw a Dementor enter it. Aurelia prepared herself for the depression but it never came. The room really was Dementor-proof.

The meeting went smoothly. Aurelia and Draco regained their proper consciousness inside the room and were able to discuss things with the Head Dementor quite easily.

They learned that the Ministry had been attempting to regain control over the Dementors. They had all been refusing but the Head Dementor was a little worried because their power was weakening. The Ministry was sending Patronuses at them non-stop and some of the Dementors barely had any strength left in them. If they didn't get souls to feed off soon some of them might either go weak at the hands of the Aurors or simply die. Aurelia wrote down everything from the meeting and told the Head Dementor that she would tell the Dark Lord and hopefully send some muggles their way for them to feed off of.

Aurelia was holding Draco's hand all the way to the car, trying to keep her head. Once they were a good distance away from the Dementors' Island, Aurelia was able to relax. All of the warmth and happiness came flooding back to Aurelia's body. She fumbled with the muggle CD player in the car and let some music play to help calm her down.

"The Dementors need Azkaban," Aurelia finally said. "They're dying without human souls to feed off."

"I'd rather they didn't go back to Azkaban, though. Most of them in there are our lot."

"I know," Aurelia agreed. "They still need it though. We can't have them going weak. If the Ministry gains control of them again, we're screwed."

"We'll be OK."

"Hey Draco?" Aurelia turned to him.

"Yeah?"

"What were you thinking about back there?" Aurelia asked. "You know, to keep from going insane."

"Oh, erm…w-winning the Quidditch Cup," Draco said in an odd voice that almost sounded broken.

"Oh."

"Why? What did you think of?" he asked.

"My dad," Aurelia lied.

"Oh."

Aurelia and Draco had left the Dementors' Island a quarter to eleven and landed in another small village at about midnight. They figured signing into a hotel now would be too risky so they settled for parking the car somewhere quiet and sleeping in it, with the Invisibility still on.

Aurelia didn't sleep well again. She couldn't stop thinking. Her thoughts didn't circle mainly around the events of the night or the war. Her thoughts mainly circled around Draco. She looked over at him, sound asleep on the laid-back seat. He looked so peaceful, so un-Draco like. Aurelia couldn't quite understand what had come over her at the Dementors' Island. She couldn't understand why Draco made her feel so happy and warm. Frankly, she couldn't stand him lately. He had been pushing all of her buttons. Ever since she first decided to talk to him on the first day back at Hogwarts.

Their first conversation ever ended up being a weird moment of secret sharing and comforting. Their second conversation consisted of no talking at all as Draco was very cold towards her. The following day, Draco tried to defend her against Potter and then when she was concerned about his safety he sneered her off. When she was hospitalized from the Bludger incident, he brought her soup and tried to make her feel better. Then, the next time Aurelia tried to talk to Draco he yelled at her to stay out of his business and they didn't talk for almost two weeks. When they bumped into each other at Hogsmeade, he started apologizing to her. At the Death Eater's meeting, he completely shoved her off in front of the Dark Lord himself. He was impatient with her when he came to pick her up for the mission, cross with her for making them take a car and agreeing with her about the car issue in the end. In the car, they had an argument and when she told him about possibly carrying the Dark Lord's child he seemed about ready to propose from the look in his eyes. He praised her when she took care of the muggle cop and laughed at her sarcasm played on the muggle Inn Keeper. He once again praised her when he saw how well thought out her plan was, pretended to want to have sex with her, was cross with her when she wouldn't let him write his letter and praiseful again at her decision to keep a journal of their progress. He kissed her in front of two muggle women pretending to be her boyfriend and acted as though nothing happened, yelling at her when she told him to never do it again. Then, he didn't speak to her the entire day. When they met with the muggle man, he wouldn't keep his hands off of her, pretending rather well to be her boyfriend. In the car again, they had a normal conversation. At the Dementors' Island he tried to comfort her and held her hand the whole way to make her feel warmer in the Dementors' presence. Finally he seemed disappointed when she said she had been thinking of her father to keep from losing her mind to the Dementors' torment. Now, he slept in the seat next to her in the car as though everything were fine.

Aurelia couldn't understand any of it. Why was he so bloody moody and difficult to understand? Aurelia wasn't quite sure why it was making her bitter and keeping her up all night. She looked to Draco again. He fidgeted in his sleep. Aurelia let out a deep sigh and Draco's eyes opened. Oops, Aurelia thought quickly.

"Why aren't you sleeping?" Draco groaned as he saw Aurelia sitting up in her seat.

Oh! So now he was concerned about her lack of sleep! What was with this kid!

"Dunno," Aurelia shrugged. "Just thinking."

"About what, may I inquire?"

"I'd rather not say," she mumbled and Draco nodded.

This reminded Aurelia of their very first conversation. Only this time when she said she didn't want to tell him, she actually wasn't going to.

"Well, maybe you should try to forget it and get some rest," Draco yawned.

I can't forget it because it's right in front of me! Aurelia yelled at Draco mentally.

"Yeah, you're right. Goodnight."

Draco turned his back to Aurelia and nestled into another comfortable position to fall asleep in. There was no way Aurelia was going to sleep now. Nevertheless, she laid down and decided to give it a shot. She was asleep before she could count to ten.

She, surprisingly, woke before Draco the next morning. It seemed that whenever she went to sleep to late, thinking, she woke up much earlier. She looked to the car's dashboard and saw that it was six o' clock in the morning. She yawned and sat up, stretching. Draco was still sound asleep and she decided to not disturb him. Since they had spent the night in what seemed to be the middle of no where in the car, there was no where for Aurelia to shower so she simply climbed into the back seat, used a cloak to cover the area and began changing into her deep violet robes. Once she was done, she sat back into the front. She brushed her teeth, using her wand to conjure water for her to gargle and rinse with. After spitting the last of her toothpaste out of the window, Draco began to stir. Aurelia smiled and put her things back into her knapsack.

"Good morning sleepy-head," Aurelia smiled as Draco's eyes opened up.

Aurelia waited patiently while Draco collected himself. He changed into dark green robes, brushed his teeth and they rose into the air.

The journey back felt fairly quick and was a couple of hours shorter. Probably because they didn't waste any time. On the way there, they had stopped twice, taking an extremely long time to be on their way. On the way back, however, neither Aurelia nor Draco felt the need to stop the car. Not caring about the risk, Aurelia flew all the way home without landing and driving the rest of the way, which also cut out a lot of unnecessary time. It was nearly half past eleven when they arrived at Aurelia's mansion.

The entrance of Aurelia and Draco onto the property seemed to raise some kind of alarm because her father came sprinting out of the door, pointing his wand in their direction.

"Daddy! It's just me!" Aurelia cried, throwing her hands in the air.

Dillard Finn squinted his eyes and saw the unmistakable outline of his daughter. He rushed over to hug Aurelia and ask her how everything went. The three went inside to the sitting room.

"It was great, a little tiresome, but great," Aurelia smiled. "Actually, I took to keeping a journal of our progress." Aurelia reached into her knapsack and pulled out a thick bundle of parchment rolled up neatly. "I was going to give that to the Dark Lord so he could look it over."

Aurelia's father beamed with pride as he read the parchments. He was obviously over-pleased with how well she was doing at being a Death Eater.

"A Botanist?" was all her father said when he was finished reading. "You made me a Botanist?"

"It was either that or _Gardener_, I figured I was doing you a favor," Aurelia smiled and they both began laughing.

Draco looked a little uneasy in the presence of the two. Aurelia saw his stiff stature and quickly turned the subject to more important matters.

"Did we miss anything important while we were gone?" Aurelia asked her father.

"There was one thing," her father started, sounding very serious. "We ran into an old friend yesterday." Aurelia and Draco exchanged puzzled looks. "Severus Snape."

"Snape! Fantastic! How is he?" Aurelia asked excitedly.

"No, Aurelia, not fantastic," he sighed. Aurelia's face dropped. "Turns out Snape was a spy. No, not for us, for the Order." Aurelia gasped and put her hands over her mouth in shock. "That's not the worst of it. Apparently, he had been hiding out in the Order headquarters. On the attack yesterday, he showed up with Aurors. He-he's got the Elder Wand."

"What!" Aurelia exclaimed. "I thought that didn't really exist!"

"It does," her father nodded. "Dumbledore had it. When Snape killed Dumbledore, though, he became the wand's rightful owner. Well, now that he's got a hold of the wand, the Order still has hold of the most powerful magical object in the world."

Aurelia couldn't believe what she was hearing. She used to have so much respect for Snape. She'd known him since she was born, he had been like an Uncle to her. She couldn't believe how all her life, it had all been a lie. She couldn't believe that Snape was actually on side with Potter. Of all people.

"Why did he kill Dumbledore, though?" Aurelia asked.

"Dumbledore told him to."

This was all so surreal. Aurelia couldn't believe her ears. She looked at Draco and he simply sat frozen. Nobody saw this coming. Everyone was so sure that Snape was on their side. He had been a spy for the Dark Lord for nearly seventeen years. So, had he really been a spy for the Order the whole time? Or had he just recently turned over to their side? Aurelia was so confused and so lost as to what was happening.

After her father assured Aurelia that everything will be fine, though Aurelia wasn't convinced, he sent her and Draco on their way. They had to be back at school before midnight. At a quarter to twelve, the two of them said goodbye to Dillard and Apparated to Hogsmeade. Draco and Aurelia quickly sprinted up to the school.

"Pesky Pixy," Aurelia said clearly, glad to see that it was still the password to the Headmistress' office.

They knocked on the door and it swung open for them. McGonagall was sitting at her desk, she seemed to be waiting for them.

"11:59, very good timing," she smiled as they entered.

McGonagall, thankfully, didn't inquire as to where they had been and sent them to their Dormitories. Aurelia hadn't said a word to Draco since they left her mansion. When they got to the Common Room, however, she could no longer hold it in.

"This is terrible!" she exclaimed suddenly. "I always trusted Snape! We all did! Now, he's with Order _and_ he's got the Elder Wand! First Dumbledore, now Snape! Can't one of _us_ have it for once?!"

At this, she shot a dirty look at Draco who only stared back at her.

"Well, look at it this way," he said, trying to calm her down. "It would still be Dumbledore with the wand if it wasn't for me--"

"DON'T TRY TO SOUND LIKE YOU'VE DONE SOMETHING RIGHT! IF IT WASN'T FOR YOU?! YOU'RE RIGHT! _IF IT WASN'T FOR YOU!_ IF IT WASN'T FOR YOU WE WOULD BE THE ONES WITH THE ELDER WAND RIGHT NOW! IF YOU HAD JUST DONE WHAT YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO AND KILLED DUMBLEDORE INSTEAD OF RUNNING SCARED AT THE LAST MINUTE AND PRETENDING LIKE YOU WERE NEVER IN ON THE ENTIRE ORDEAL, THEN WE WOULDN'T HAVE THIS PROBLEM! IF YOU HAD JUST KILLED DUMBLEDORE LIKE YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO, YOU WOULD BE THE ONE WITH ELDER WAND RIGHT NOW AND _WE WOULD BE WINNING!_" Aurelia screamed at him, her voice becoming hoarse.

"OH! SO NOW IT'S MY FAULT?!"

"YES! IT IS YOUR FAULT! WHY WAS IT SO BLOODY DIFFICULT?! YOU WERE GIVEN A SIMPLE TASK! KILL. DUMBLEDORE. WHY WAS IT SO BLOODY DIFFICULT FOR YOU?! NO! YOU LET IN ALL THE DEATH EATERS, TO MAKE YOURSELF SEEM LIKE A BIG HERO BUT WHEN IT WAS TIME FOR YOU TO STEP UP AND FIGHT, YOU TURNED COWARD! YOU HID AND LET EVERYONE ELSE DO THE DIRTY WORK! **YOU LET SNAPE KILL DUMBLEDORE!**" Aurelia took a calming breath. "You're just a coward. If it had been me, I would have done it as soon as I had the chance. You're just a coward. You're not worthy to bear that mark." She gestured towards his left arm and shook her head in shame. "I have nothing more to say to you," she spat at him and walked into her Dormitory, leaving Draco standing in the Common Room with a deafening beating in his heart.

* * *

**A/N: OK! So I needed to clear up a few things about this story. I'm sure some of you are kind of wondering about this last bit. Well, if you look at the warnings that are always in the beginning of this story, one of them says "Book 6 Events Slightly Altered". This story does follow HBP, except for I made a few non-canon changes for the sake of the plot. Draco never even attempted to kill Dumbledore. He did everything that was in the book but when the Battle came around, he wasn't there. It was all Snape. So, anyway, that's another reason why he only just now got into the Death Eaters two chapters ago. Because he wasn't officially a Death Eater yet, he was supposed to become one when he killed Dumbledore, only her never did. Those are the only altercations really. That, and, Lucius isn't in Azkaban. He escaped during the summer. I'm not going to go into detail in the story, though, it's not that important. Review contest is still on, so let's get to it! You know I love you :)**


	7. Coward

**-7-  
**Coward

* * *

**Summary:** She barely even knew him. Draco Malfoy was just one of those kids she passed in the halls between classes or asked to borrow a piece of parchment from when she had none. Thanks to the Dark Lord, however, Aurelia Finn and Draco Malfoy will soon find out they have a little more than just age and house in common. And maybe a little bit greater of a task than just "that Charms essay due next period" underway.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except my made up character and plot. J.K Rowling owns all else.

**Warnings:** Sexual Situations, Violence, Character Death, Substance Use/ Abuse, Adult Language, Book 7 Disregarded, Book 6 Events Slightly Altered

* * *

"_You're just a coward."_

"_You're not worthy to bear that mark."_

"_You're just a coward."_

"_You're just a coward."_

"_You're just a coward."_

Aurelia's words rang in his ears, sounding more cruel and hurtful each time. He stood transfixed on the spot. He couldn't move, he couldn't speak, he couldn't think. All he heard was her. Yelling at him. She was right, it was all his fault. Everything that happened the previous year was his fault. Everything that was happening now was his fault.

Draco wanted to scream. He wanted to yell as loud as he could. He wanted to shout random nonsense into the sky until his voice became dry and he couldn't speak again for weeks.

"She called me a coward."

No one was around to hear his whisper. No one was around to hear the hurt and confusion in his voice. No one was around to tell him it would be OK.

"She called me a coward."

The words were louder this time. Still, no one heard. Everyone was asleep in their beds, not caring or worrying about Draco. Not caring or worrying that he was breaking down.

"She called me a coward!"

Still, no one heard. Not even a whisper of his yells entered their ears. Nothing. Everyone was sound asleep.

"SHE CALLED ME A COWARD!"

No one heard him. No one heard him scream.

"**SHE CALLED ME A COWARD!"**

No one heard him. No one heard him because he wasn't speaking. He wasn't letting out a sound. He stood still, transfixed to the spot he claimed just minutes ago. The same spot he stood in when Aurelia yelled hurtful things at him. He stood transfixed, barely blinking, barely breathing. Not letting out a sound.

"She called me a coward."

It was a sob this time. An actual sob. An audible one. He fell. Draco Malfoy fell to his knees and sobbed. No one had ever called him a coward.

Her words pierced him harder than a thousand curses or a million and one crude remarks. Her words pierced him harder than any spell or weapon ever would. No one had ever called him a coward.

No one _like her_ had ever called him a coward.

Like her? What makes her special? She's just another classmate. She's just another Death Eater. She's just another girl.

She's not. She's an exceptional classmate. She's an exceptional Death Eater. She's an exceptional girl. She's better than anything Draco could ever be. She's better because she's not _a coward._

Enough! He wasn't a coward and he knew it! Just because some girl told him he was doesn't make him a coward! He had more bravery in his left toenail than she had in her entire body! He was twice the Death Eater she was! He could have gone on that mission alone! He could have done it twice as well!

Lies. He _was _a coward. He had nothing to tell him otherwise. He would have done terribly on the mission by himself. He wouldn't have made it out of Scotland, let alone to the Atlantic.

He needed her. He needed her to guide him. To tell him what to do and what not to do. To teach him. He needed her to comfort him. To tell him that he was going to make it. He needed her more than he needed himself.

Ridiculous! He was perfectly fine on his own! He didn't need any help! He was managing _just fine_ on his own!

No he wasn't. It was all too hard and too confusing. It made his head want to explode from the pressure. Everything was building up and slowly causing him to break down. Break down into little bits of himself.

Draco Malfoy had fallen. He had fallen for blindness. He had fallen for weakness. He had fallen for failure. But, most importantly, he had fallen for cowardice.

There was not one thing he could do or say to help him stand.

"She called me a coward."

* * *

**A/N: WOAH short chapter! There's a reason I did this. This chapter was short; It was almost like a side-note. If you noticed, it didn't even have a title that matched the theme the rest of chapter titles have. It was something completely different.**

**1. It all happened within a couple of minutes.  
****2. It was Draco's point of view.  
3. It was all thoughts.**

**If you noticed, I left everything in third person. It symbolizes that it was almost as if it were a completely different person thinking these thoughts for him. It was almost like he was watching himself struggle.**

**There was a lot of battling with his thoughts. Sometimes he could be thinking one thing and then completely turn around and think contradictory. I wanted everyone to be able to understand what was going on with him and what effect Aurelia was having on him.**

**I'm planning on, maybe, having more of these side note chapters in the future. We'll see how things go.**

**Also, I'm picking the winner of the review contest on July 16****th****. So this is your last chance. You have today and tomorrow to write me a review that I will absolutely love and I'll put you in the story. If I choose you, I'll just need you to tell me what you look like (or a picture if you want but I prefer a description), your name and some things about your personality. Don't put that in the review. Make the review a regular one that I'll love. No sugary stuff. Review it for real. Don't brown-nose just because you want to win. I have a unique way of picking my winner. Just…just review.**

**You know I love you :)**


	8. Unspoken Grudges

**-8-  
**Unspoken Grudges, Normal Days and Hurtful Whispers.

* * *

**Summary:** She barely even knew him. Draco Malfoy was just one of those kids she passed in the halls between classes or asked to borrow a piece of parchment from when she had none. Thanks to the Dark Lord, however, Aurelia Finn and Draco Malfoy will soon find out they have a little more than just age and house in common. And maybe a little bit greater of a task than just "that Charms essay due next period" underway.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except my made up character and plot. J.K Rowling owns all else.

**Warnings:** Sexual Situations, Violence, Character Death, Substance Use/ Abuse, Adult Language, Book 7 Disregarded, Book 6 Events Slightly Altered

* * *

It was about six o' clock the next morning when Aurelia rolled out of bed. Literally.

"Ow! Damn," she groaned and tried to untangle herself from her sheets.

Aurelia stood up off of the floor and slumped past the Common Room, into the Girl's Bathroom. While she stood under the hot water, she tried to recall everything that happened that weekend. With a frustrated groan, she climbed out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her.

"That's just bloody perfect," she hissed to herself.

"What is?" a voice startled her.

Aurelia looked up to see Pansy Parkinson standing in the doorway, probably on her way to take a shower.

"Nothing," Aurelia said quickly.

"Are you alright?"

"Nope," Aurelia replied in a voice that sounded as though she were just fine.

Pansy gave her a questioning look as she walked out of the bathroom with a towel around her naked body. Pansy decided she would find out what happened and followed her to the Dormitory. Before Pansy could ask her what was wrong, she saw something Aurelia didn't hide, in her careless bad mood.

"Oh, Merlin…," Pansy gasped.

Aurelia looked at her with a raised eyebrow. She followed her gaze right down to her left forearm.

"Shit!" Aurelia cried and tried to cover it up.

It's too late, the damage is done, she thought.

"That's awesome!" Pansy yelled. Aurelia raised her eyebrows in shock. "You're so lucky."

Aurelia laughed and realized that she'd been hiding this from all the wrong people.

"I guess I am," Aurelia nodded. "What about you?"

"I wish," Pansy shook her head.

"I'm sure something can be arranged in the near future," Aurelia smiled.

"Are you serious!" Pansy exclaimed. "Can you really actually do that?"

"I can try. I have somewhat of an influence on the," she dropped her voice. "Dark Lord."

"Wicked," Pansy sighed. "So, what was with you in the showers?"

Aurelia sighed and walked to her trunk. She was silent while she rummaged for her robes. Once she found her clothes, she stood on her bed and pulled the curtains closed.

"I had a hard weekend," Aurelia called through the curtains.

"Care to elaborate?"

Aurelia pulled the curtains back. She was just in her bra and underwear. She began to put on her robes when she spoke again.

"I would love to but it's not exactly safe to talk about that kind of stuff here," she looked around to their sleeping dorm mates.

"Oh…," Pansy sighed. Then, her eyes went wide as though she understood what Aurelia was talking about. "Oh!"

Aurelia smiled and when she was finished dressing she told Pansy she'd see her at breakfast. Aurelia walked into the Common Room and sat waiting for Issac. Minutes later, he appeared out of the Boys' passageway.

"You're back!" he called and ran to embrace his friend in a tight hug.

Behind him came a very disgruntled Draco Malfoy. He looked at the scene of the two hugging and walked away with a sigh. Issac let Aurelia go just before he almost squeezed the life out of her.

"You have to tell me where you were! You were gone all weekend. No letter, nothing!"

"Calm down, Issac! Damn," she laughed. "I'll tell you everything later."

Issac and Aurelia linked arms and walked merrily to the Great Hall for breakfast. A pair of silver eyes followed the two of them as they took their seats and began sharing a bowl of porridge. When Aurelia and Issac had finished their bowl of porridge and drank a goblet of orange juice, the two were on their way to Potions.

"We'll be working in partners today," Slughorn said to the class when they were all settled in. "So get to it!"

Aurelia saw Draco making his over to her. She quickly turned over to Issac.

"Wanna be my partner?"

"Of course I do, silly."

Aurelia breathed a sigh of relief and sat down next to Issac. Draco turned away from her in anger and partnered up with Blaise Zabini.

"Today we will be making The Drought of Living Death. I'm sure some of you remember making these last year but as they will show up on your N.E.W.T exams, we will be reviewing them," Slughorn explained. He then tapped the blackboard with his wand and a list of ingredients and instructions appeared.

"I'll get them," Aurelia said and stood up to get the ingredients from the cupboard.

Draco saw Aurelia walk to the cupboard and volunteered to go get their ingredients, to Blaise's surprise. Draco waited patiently for everyone to get their things so that him and Aurelia were the last ones.

"Aurelia, why aren't you talking to me?" he whispered to her, looking for Valerian roots.

"I told you last night, Malfoy," she started. "I have nothing more to say to you."

"Well, did your dad give the Dark Lord your writings?"

"Are you insane!" Aurelia said in a loud whisper. "Can't you find a better place to talk about this! Don't you use your brai--"

"Mr. Malfoy, Miss Finn, is there a problem here?" Slughorn came up behind them.

"No sir, I just couldn't find the wormwood. Malfoy was just pointing it out," Aurelia said sweetly.

"Well, get to your seats," he barked.

Aurelia nodded and shot Draco a dirty look before walking over to join Issac at their station. Draco wasn't letting her go, he followed her to her seat.

"You can't keep ignoring me like this, Aurelia. You know full well, you can't ignore me," he said to her harshly.

"Leave me alone, Malfoy," she said calmly. "I'm not in the mood."

"What is it that I've done to you! Everything was fine! Then last night you completely blew up at me!"

"I said," Aurelia gritted her teeth. "Leave me alone."

"No! I will not lea--"

"She said leave her alone, Malfoy!"

"Stay out of this, Roberts!" Draco spat at Issac.

"Hey, you can't talk to my friend like that!" Aurelia stood up from her seat and came face-to-face with Draco.

"I'll talk to whomever I want, however I want," he sneered.

"Don't you have something better to do, Malfoy?"

"Not until you stop holding this fucking grudge that you all of a sudden have over me!"

"Malfoy, go away. I swear it," Issac began to threaten as he stood to his feet as well.

"Malfoy! Roberts! Finn! What is going on?" Slughorn yelled from the front of the room.

"Nothing, sir," Draco said, turning his gaze away from Aurelia.

"Clearly not. Detention, all three of you. Tomorrow night," he said and turned back to what he was doing.

Aurelia let out a small groan and shot Draco the dirtiest of looks. Draco simply sat back in his seat. Both of them were frustrated. They haven't even been at school for a full term and she was already on her eighteenth detention.

Aurelia tried as hard as she could to focus on her Drought. Unfortunately, instead of the potion going from deep purple, to lilac, to clear as water, it went from deep blue, to periwinkle, to a misty sky blue. Slughorn walked up to the potion and examined it carefully.

"You didn't crush your Sopophorous roots with the side of your silver dagger. You cut them, didn't you?"

Aurelia thought back to how she prepared the potion and nodded her head. Slughorn shook his head and wrote what looked like an "S".

"Evenesco," Slughorn said clearly as he pointed his wand at their cauldron.

All of the potion disappeared and Slughorn walked around to check everyone else's work. Aurelia and Issac exchanged smirks. They had completely messed up their potion and still managed a "Satisfactory" for the day.

When the class was over, Issac and Aurelia left it in laughter. Both of them proceeded to Tonks' class with their arms linked. When they got to Transfiguration, Aurelia remembered that she still sat next to Draco.

"Pansy!" Aurelia called at her. "Do you mind if we switch seats?"

"Sure, no problem," Pansy shrugged and took a seat next to Draco.

Draco looked quite upset at this but decided not to say anything to avoid another detention. Aurelia took her seat next to Issac, where Pansy previously sat. They spent the class working on Conjuring Spells. Tonks wasn't hesitating to get straight to the N.E.W.T-level stuff.

It was extremely difficult and everything that was going on lately didn't help Aurelia do any better. However, sitting next to Issac, she had a blast. The two were joking around and laughing. Aurelia accidentally conjured a bouquet of noses rather than a bouquet of roses making Aurelia and Issac burst into uncontrollable fits of laughter. All the while, Draco was watching them angrily and nearly drowned the bird he had conjured by shooting out immense amounts of water from his wand.

The class had a blast working with the conjuring spell and, by the end, Aurelia just about got the hang of it. Before dismissing the class, Tonks told them to practice on their own for Wednesday's class.

The horsing-around with Issac in Transfiguration put Aurelia in a wonderful mood. She nearly ran the way to the Quidditch Pitch. She could have sworn she heard a rather handsome blonde call her name but she decided to ignore it.

On her way out of her Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Aurelia remembered that she hadn't done the Care of Magical Creatures' essay that had been assigned the previous Wednesday. Aurelia cursed at herself for not doing it before the weekend and told Issac she would see him later. She went past the crowd of students beginning to gather in the Great Hall for lunch and went to the Dungeons.

With a loud groan, Aurelia sat at the table in the corner of the Common Room, pulled out _Mystical, Magical and Mundane: An A-Z Guide of Magical Creatures and How to Care For Them_ by Arthur Gentian, a few rolls of parchment, a quill and ink. Aurelia scanned the index for _Grindylows_ and turned to page 144 to read about them.

"_A Grindylow is a pale green creature that lives in the weed beds on the bottom of lakes in Britain. It is also known as a water demon. Grindylows have long, brittle fingers which they use to grip their prey, sharp little horns, and green teeth…"_

"This sucks," Aurelia said shortly. "Didn't I learn this rubbish third year? Honestly."

Aurelia was beginning to feel like seventh year was just a waste of time. All they seemed to be doing is reviewing stuff they've already gone over in previous years. They weren't learning anything new.

At her thoughts, Draco Malfoy entered the Common Room with his Care of Magical Creatures book in his hand. When he caught site of Aurelia all thoughts of writing his essay were wiped from his mind. He briskly began walking over to her. Aurelia saw him, gathered up her things and shoved past the boy so eager to get her attention. She decided she would finish the essay in the Library.

When lunch was over, Aurelia had just barely managed to scrape together two rolls of parchment for Hagrid's essay. She threw all of her things back into her bag and left the Library for her Charms class. Flitwick taught them Muggle-Repelling Charms and after an entire class period of "Repello Muggletum" Aurelia was sure she would have nightmares about muggles trying to break into her room.

The entire class was pleased to hear they were no longer working with Grindylows in Care of Magical Creatures. After Hagrid collected their essays, he introduced them to a swarm of Doxies. When Aurelia had gotten bitten and injected with Doxy venom antidote the second time, Hagrid let her sit out the rest of the period and given her an "Outstanding" for the day.

History of Magic was just as boring as ever. Binns continued to lecture the class in his droll voice that made everyone nearly fall asleep.

In Herbology the class were set to seed Screechsnap. It was pretty easy seeing as they had already done it fifth year.

Aurelia was extremely happy to have classes over. She and Issac went to dinner, extremely exhausted.

"You know, I figure I'm going to have to pull a Weasley pretty soon," Aurelia sighed.

"If it weren't for the N.E.W.Ts I would have pulled one ages ago," Issac agreed.

The two of them continued to discuss leaving the school early all the way to the Great Hall. They seemed to be some of the last people to get there. Aurelia sat with Issac and Pansy for dinner. When the food appeared, she helped herself to a bit of whatever looked like it tasted nice and embarked in heated conversations with her two friends.

"So, are you going to tell me what happened this weekend?" Pansy asked a few minutes into the meal.

"I'll tell both of you after dinner. We can talk in the Girl's Dormitory."

Pansy and Issac both nodded. Right as she was about to take a sip of her Pumpkin Juice, there came an odd prickling on Aurelia's arm.

"Shit," she said quietly and looked in Draco's direction. He had obviously felt it too. "I have to go. Cover for me."

Without another word, Aurelia left the Great Hall with Draco following close behind.

"How do we get there?" Draco called after her. Just before stepping outside, Aurelia threw open the door to a broom cupboard. She took out her Firebolt and rested it against the wall. Aurelia pointed her wand at herself and muttered an incantation Draco didn't catch. Aurelia's body began to take on the pattern of the wall behind her. Disillusionment Charm. Before Draco could ask, Aurelia cast the charm on him.

"Get on," she said in a monotone and motioned for Draco to get on the broom with her.

Draco didn't argue. He quickly climbed onto the broom behind her and they flew out through the doors. They flew all the way off the grounds. Aurelia rested her broom on the ground and Apparated away. Draco followed.

The two appeared at a place that Draco knew all too well. He saw that the Disillusionment Charm had lifted from him and Aurelia. Now they both stood in their usual places next to their fathers and each other wearing their Death Eater robes and masks. The Malfoy Manor Cellar was filled with Death Eaters standing in a semi-circle around a large rug at the hearth of the fireplace where the Dark Lord stood with parchment in his hand.

"I have, in my hands, something rather interesting," the Dark Lord began addressing his followers. "It is a sort of journal. Written by our very own Aurelia Finn." A few heads quickly looked in her direction but turned away after a split second to look back at the man speaking to them. "It is a recording of Miss Finn's and Mr. Malfoy's journey to the Dementors' Island. In full detail, Miss Finn has written of their mission. This is well served to me. What pains me is, that a seventeen-year-old girl who has been in our organization for two months, is more equipped with handling the job than some of my older followers. So, the question is, why!"

He hissed the last part to them so fiercely that it made Aurelia shiver. She knew that most of the people around her wouldn't be too happy with her at the moment. She had made a lot of them look bad.

"Disappointing," he said in a low voice. "I expect more from the rest of you in the future. Now, as Miss Finn, so kindly, has written, the Dementors are weakening. The Ministry is attempting to gain control over them once more. The Head Dementor says that if the Ministry keeps at it with their Patronuses and such, the Dementors won't stand a chance. They will either die, or give in. So! By the end of this week, I want, from each of you, two muggles. We will give these muggles to the Dementors so they may gain some more energy. Miss Finn and young Mr. Malfoy, for your help and for the fact that you are still in school, you will be exempt from this particular quest. The rest of you, two muggles by the end of the week! Try to make them…happy ones. Dismissed!"

Aurelia and Draco came to a stop in the same spot they were in just a short while ago. Aurelia put a Disillusionment Charm on herself once more and mounted her broom, muttering angrily to herself. Once Draco was Disillusioned and mounted, Aurelia lifted form the ground and flew off back to the school.

By the time the two of them got back, dinner was over. Aurelia walked to the Dungeons. She and Draco hadn't exchanged a word since she told him to "get on" her broom. Though, just down the hall from the Common Room entrance Draco began to speak.

"Aurelia, can you please talk to me?"

She ignored him.

"Aurelia, please? I really need you to stop this and talk to me!"

She ignored him and continued walking. Draco got angry, grabbed her wrist and pushed her violently against a wall.

"What is with you? What have I done to you? Yesterday, you completely blew up at me and now you won't even talk to me! Talk to me!"

"I told you, I have nothing more to say to you," she repeated the line to him for the third time.

"Stop saying that! It's utter bullshit and you know it! Are you honestly mad at me for Snape? Is that really what this is all about?" He pushed her against the wall harder. "I don't need you to do anything except fucking talk to me!"

"Let me go, Malfoy," she said calmly.

"No! Not until you tell me what the fuck is making you act like this so I can get on with my life!"

"Let me go, Malfoy," she said in the same calm voice.

The wall to Aurelia's left revealed a very angry looking Pansy Parkinson.

"Draco! What in God's name are you doing? Let her go!" Pansy said in shock.

"Stay out of this, Pansy. This is between me and Aurelia."

"Draco! Let her go! You're cutting off the poor girl's circulation!" Pansy cried.

"Malfoy! Let her go," Issac said, stepping in behind Pansy.

Aurelia rolled her eyes. Draco finally gave up and threw Aurelia a look she couldn't interpret before letting her go. He brushed past the two Slytherins and disappeared into the Common Room.

"Thank, guys," she said knowing full well that she didn't need their help.

They both nodded and walked her into the Common Room. Aurelia remembered that she had promised to tell them about the weekend and started for the Dorm. Right in front of her, went Millicent Bullstrode and Daphne Greengrass. Aurelia sighed deeply knowing that she couldn't tell them anything with those two in her Dormitory. The Common Room was filled with people, mostly the entire house was there. Aurelia looked around and decided she would try the Boys' Dormitory. The three of them walked in and found no one except Draco.

"This will do," Aurelia said. Issac nudged her side and pointed to Draco. "No, it's alright."

"If you're sure," Issac shrugged.

Aurelia hadn't told him that Draco was a Death Eater as well because she hadn't mentioned a thing of what happened since Friday. Aurelia took out her wand, pointed it at the door and said,

"Colloportus. Imperturbatus."

Once the room was fully protected from intruders and eavesdroppers, Aurelia situated herself on Issac's bed and began telling him and Pansy about her weekend. She began with being summoned to the Death Eater's meeting while in Hogsmeade and ended with her father telling her about Snape.

"The Elder Wand?" Issac asked when Aurelia was finished.

"I thought that was just a fairytale," Pansy added.

"It's not. It's real and now Snape has it. What's worse is he's not using it on our side," Aurelia said. "You have Malfoy here to thank for that."

Aurelia shot Draco the dirtiest of looks.

"Again with the blaming! Look I get that I messed up! But how was I honestly supposed to know that Snape was on _Potter's_ side?! I mean, you said it yourself, we all thought Snape was with us!" Draco cut in.

"The point is not that you trusted Snape, the point is that you didn't go through with your mission! YOU COMPLETELY LEFT EVERYONE IN THE DUST AND _THAT_ MAKES THIS YOUR FAULT!"

"I WAS SIXTEEN! I WAS SCARED! WAS I HONESTLY SUPPOSED TO BE ABLE TO GO THROUGH WITH ALL OF THAT AT ONCE?!"

"OH! SO NOW THAT YOU'RE SEVENTEEN, IT MAKES IT SO MUCH LESS SCARY?!"

"Erm, we're gonna go," Pansy said but neither of the quarrelers acknowledged her.

Issac and Pansy slipped out of the room unnoticed. Pansy was sure to put the Imperturbable Charm on the door again to be sure no one could hear what they were fighting about.

"WHY DO YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO BRING OUT THE WORST IN ME! WHY CAN'T YOU JUST ACCEPT THE FACT THAT I MADE A MISTAKE! SITTING AND CRYING OVER SPILLED POTION ISN'T GOING TO CHANGE THAT FACT!"

"I AM _NOT_ CRYING OVER SPILLED POTION! I JUST WANT TO MAKE IT QUITE PLAIN AND CLEAR THAT I HATE WHAT YOU DID! I HATE THAT WE'RE PROBABLY GOING TO LOSE THIS WAR BECAUSE OF YOU!" Aurelia dropped her voice so it sounded not like yelling but hurtful chastising. "You know, Potter is going to find those Horcruxes. There's no denying it. When he does, him and Snape are going to both kill the Dark Lord and everyone that stands in their way. And it's all your fault."

With each word getting quieter, "it's all your fault" was a complete whisper. There was disappointment and hurt in her voice. Without saying anything else or waiting for Draco to reply, she left the Boy's Dormitory and walked quietly to her own, not speaking or acknowledging anyone on her way.

* * *

**A/N: As Cara Mascara loves to so kindly point out, "Aurelia just had one hell of a bitch fit". Indeed she did. Speaking of whom, I have chosen the winner of the review contest (by the way, my choices were super extremely completely limited, grr). Nevertheless, I think she would have won hands down anyway. Cara Mascara is the winner of the Review thingy. Erm, if you're reading this Cara, (and I know you are) I would love it if you sent me a PM with the stuff I mentioned earlier. MKAYYY th-th-th-that's all folks!**

**Reviews are super nice :)  
**


	9. Hurtful Whispers

**-9-  
**Hurtful Whispers, Secret Admirers and Pleasant Dreams

* * *

**Summary:** She barely even knew him. Draco Malfoy was just one of those kids she passed in the halls between classes or asked to borrow a piece of parchment from when she had none. Thanks to the Dark Lord, however, Aurelia Finn and Draco Malfoy will soon find out they have a little more than just age and house in common. And maybe a little bit greater of a task than just "that Charms essay due next period" underway.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except my made up character and plot. J.K Rowling owns all else.

**Warnings:** Sexual Situations, Violence, Character Death, Substance Use/ Abuse, Adult Language, Book 7 Disregarded, Book 6 Events Slightly Altered

**A/N:** Just a quick note. I realized I made a huge error in the last chapter. The scene where Aurelia, Draco and Issac got detention, I wrote that Aurelia was frustrated because this was her second detention and it was only the first week of school. Of course, it was only while writing this chapter that I realized, they've been in school for two months now. So I changed the sentence. Nothing important. I changed "They haven't even been at school for a full week and she was already on her second detention." to "They haven't even been at school for a full term and she was already on her eighteenth detention." Simple enough, right? Good. On with the story!

* * *

It was bright and sunny, not your typical November morning. Everything around Aurelia was a happy setting. All the birds seemed to come out of hiding and were chirping away. The wind was slow and warm, making the fallen leaves dance about the ground like a gang of brown, red, orange and yellow leprechauns. The sun shone through the branches of bare trees and heated the ground they were planted in. The people in the Common Room and the Great Hall were laughing and enjoying themselves. Everyone seemed eager to start the day, not caring that it was a Tuesday. Classes, teachers and homework didn't seem to bother them.

Aurelia groaned. Why must they all be so bloody cheerful? she thought. She threw her head back in exasperation and her eyes fell upon the enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall. The sky was unusually blue with just a few random puffy white clouds floating by gently.

"Bloody hell," Aurelia groaned at the irony.

Here she was feeling like a Troll just rammed his way through her insides while everyone else looked like they were under extremely powerful Cheering Charms. Ridiculous.

"What's with everybody?" Aurelia leaned over to her left and whispered to Issac.

"What are you talking about?"

"The weather, the people. Everything is so," she paused to think of a word. "Giddy."

Issac shrugged and continued on with his bowl of Corn Flakes. Aurelia rolled her eyes and nibbled gloomily at her toast.

"'Reeeeellliiiiaaaa" came a screech from the direction of the door.

Aurelia turned her head to see Pansy Parkinson skipping towards her merrily. Aurelia rolled her eyes with a smile and set her toast down to greet her new friend.

"Hi Pansy," Aurelia almost giggled as she hugged the black-haired girl.

"Have I got news for you!" Pansy chirped with a wide grin.

"Have you now?" Aurelia raised an eyebrow. "And what, pray tell, might those news be?"

"You've got an," she leaned in closer. "an _admirer_."

"And you've got a right leg," Aurelia scoffed. "What else is new?"

"Oh come off it. You know you're excited."

"Not exactly," Aurelia shrugged, taking a bite out of her toast. "Who is it?"

As a reply Pansy thrust a letter into Aurelia's direction. Taking the letter from Pansy, Aurelia brushed her hand off on her robe and unfolded it.

_Aurelia,_

_I don't how to say this. This isn't exactly something I do very often. Well…never. Anyway, since you seemed a little…unapproachable due to certain things, I decided this was the best way to talk to you. I'm not going to tell you what I wanted to in this letter, it'll be better in person. So, how about we meet up? Say, the Slytherin Common room? Midnight, Friday? I'd do it another night but I've got detention until Thursday so I'll probably be heading to bed after having to deal with Slughorn for hours. Hope to see you then!_

It was signed with something that looked like a 'b'. Maybe it was a 'd'. Or a 'p' or a 'q'. It was just somewhat of a circle with a vertical line through it. It could have been either of those letters. Aurelia was sure it wasn't a 'q', though. Honestly, what kind of a name starts with a 'Q'?

"That's nice," Aurelia said in monotone and set the letter aside.

"Aren't you the least bit interested?"

"No. If he was anyone worth my time he would have just come talk to me." Aurelia said nonchalantly.

Pansy rolled her eyes and took a seat next to Aurelia. Issac was now reading Aurelia's letter as he had been listening to the conversation.

"That's funny," he said with a slight chuckle when he was finished.

The three of them continued to eat their breakfast without another word. The people around her were still happy. Miserable sods, Aurelia thought coldly.

At her thought, _the_ miserable sod himself walked through the double doors of the Great Hall. Only, he wasn't alone. There was a girl with him. She had bleached hair which was almost identical to Draco's, perhaps a shade darker. The curls of the blonde reached to her shoulders and curved around the neck of light skin. She had her face set into what seemed like a very well-practiced smirk which she broke just occasionally to twirl her lip ring with her tongue. The girl was just a few inches shorter than Draco and seemed to compliment his looks quite nicely.

Aurelia turned to Pansy who was now lazily twirling her porridge around her spoon.

"Who's that?"

"What?" Pansy asked absentmindedly. She then turned to the direction of the doors and saw Draco beginning to sit down with the blonde-haired girl. "Oh, that's Cara. Some girl Draco met in the Common Room this morning."

Pansy let out a large yawn and started playing with her porridge again. Aurelia sat in thought. That was strange, she'd never seen the girl in the Dormitory before. She obviously didn't share a room with them. Aurelia shook her head and realized that she didn't really care who the girl was or what she was doing with Draco. It was none of her damn business.

"Ready to go?" Issac nudged.

"Go? Go where?"

"Class, Aurelia. You know, because this is _school_."

"Oh, right." Aurelia shook her head, a little lost. "Coming Pansy?"

"Do I have to?" Pansy groaned in displeasure.

"Pretty much," Aurelia laughed and patted her on the back.

The three of them walked out of the Great Hall along with a mass of other students also making their way to the first class of Tuesday morning. In Aurelia's case, it was Advanced Double Potions. Her favorite. That was sarcasm.

"Maybe Slughorn ate himself to death," Aurelia mused.

The fat man was five minutes late to class. Aurelia and Issac were on the verge of leaving when he came rushing through the door.

"Sorry I'm late class, got held up at breakfast," he muttered in a hurried voice.

"Yeah, couldn't fit through the door," Aurelia whispered to Issac, making him snigger.

"For the next month, we will be brewing Polyjuice Potion," Slughorn addressed the class. "I know you lot will have read about it your, I believe it was second year. I know that you were not allowed to brew and use the potion at that time. However, since now you are seventh years and this is Advanced Potions, I see no harm in letting you have a bit of fun. The Potion will take a month to brew, meaning there might be days where you will do little in this class. I honestly don't care, so long as you don't disturb me too much. When we're all finished, I will let you and your partner exchange bits of hair and change forms for the class period. As Polyjuice only lasts for an hour, it will give us just enough time to change back and forth. The ingredients and instructions," he tapped the blackboard with his wand. "Are on the board. Copy them down first, so you'll always have them and then get started."

Aurelia was actually quite eager to do this assignment. As Slughorn said, most days they'll barely be doing anything at all in the class. Sighing in delight, Aurelia copied down the ingredients and instructions for the Polyjuice Potion. She stood up to walk to the cupboard and collected twelve lacewing flies, as the directions said.

On the way back to her seat, Aurelia caught sight of Draco who was still copying down the text from the board. When she got back to their station, Issac already had the cauldron being heated. Before long, the water was boiled and Aurelia dropped the twelve lacewing flies into it.

"Woah," Aurelia let out a deep sigh. "We have to stew these for twenty-one days before we can go on making the potion. That bites."

Aurelia took it back, she didn't like this project very much anymore. This was going to be boring.

Aurelia was fiercely muttering to herself as she walked up the stairs to McGonagall's office. All matters of harsh words and curses escaped her lips quietly and quickly. It's not like she made Potter's cauldron explode on _purpose_. Oh, that's right. She did.

"Pesky Pixie," Aurelia grumbled to the stone gargoyle.

It sprang to life and moved aside, revealing the oh so familiar spiral staircase. Aurelia let a smirk escape her lips as she thought back to all the times she'd ascended those stairs.

Her very first time in Dumbledore's office was during the very first week of her first year. She had put the Jelly-leg Curse on Neville Longbottom and then tied him up in a broom cupboard. She didn't do it for no reason! The fatarse stepped on a piece of parchment Aurelia dropped while walking in the hall. He pretty much asked for it.

Her absolute favorite visit to the Headmaster was probably the time, in her third year, she told Eloise Midgeon that Bubadox Powder would get rid of her acne in an instant. Of course, Eloise was always desperate to get rid of her red-dotted face and took Aurelia's offer with enthusiasm. Instead of getting rid of her problem, the Bubadox Powder made her face break out in boils as an addition to her strong acne. The rotten snitch told Professor McGonagall and Aurelia was sent to Dumbledore's office. She was, of course, let go with a warning after pleading with the old man that she honestly didn't know it was Bubotuber Pus, not Bubadox Powder, that got rid of acne.

Yet, here she was, still being sent to the Head's office for "mistreating a peer". Barely. Potter isn't exactly someone she would consider a "peer".

"Come in," she heard McGonagall's voice from the other side of the door.

Aurelia stepped into the office boldly. She was too used to this kind of thing to be nervous. Aurelia strode in casually and comfortably plopped herself down in the chair in front of McGonagall's desk.

"Miss Finn," McGonagall sigh. "What a surprise. What brings you here?"

"Dunno," Aurelia shrugged. "Apparently, Professor Slughorn thinks I purposely made Harry Potter's cauldron explode in Advanced Potions today.

"Did you?"

"Certainly not!" Aurelia said in defense.

If Aurelia was a muggle, which thank to the heavens she's not. She would be an actress, without a doubt.

"'Certainly not' you didn't make it explode? Or 'certainly not' you didn't do on purpose?"

"I didn't on purpose. I mean, the cauldron obviously exploded and it was my fault. But I didn't do it on purpose, to be sure." Aurelia stated.

"As far as I can see, you already have detention with Professor Slughorn tonight. Might I inquire as to why?" McGonagall said as she read a piece of parchment.

"Yesterday in Potion's class, Draco Malfoy was bothering me. I'm not on good terms with him at the moment so I wasn't speaking to him. The boy followed me and kept yelling at me to talk to him. I just ignored him and calmly told him to leave me alone. He wouldn't. So, my best friend Issac told him to leave me alone. He said something rude to him and I got angry. I stood up to tell him he can't talk to my friend like that. Then Malfoy made another rude comment, to me this time. Issac got to his feet to defend me and Professor Slughorn gave us detention for disturbing the class," Aurelia explained matter-of-factly.

Aurelia was almost surprised at herself. There was not a single lie in that entire explanation. This was a new record for her. She had gotten detention and it wasn't her fault this time.

"Very well, I will not give you detention. Be more careful next time." McGonagall sighed. Aurelia wanted to laugh but contained a straight face. "Get back to class, Miss Finn."

Aurelia nodded her head, thanked her and left the Headmistresses office with a satisfied smirk. She was too good at this. Honestly, she barely said or did anything to defend her case and still, she got away with it. Since Aurelia only had less than ten minutes left of class, she decided she would just walk around for a bit. Aurelia liked the hallways during class or after curfew. They were so empty and quiet. It was almost eerie but in a relaxing sort of way.

The bell rang and Aurelia unwillingly made her way to the Quidditch Pitch for Games.

"You know what? I think I'm completely mental," Aurelia said to Issac at lunch after her Double Defense class with the Gryffindors.

"Way to catch on," he said sarcastically.

"I'm serious! Why in the hell did I sign up for Advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts? Am I honestly that mental? That class is bloody excruciating! And I don't exactly need _defense_ against the dark arts," she complained. Issac simply shrugged and helped himself to some food. "You're no help, Issac."

"I try to not be," he grinned.

Aurelia chuckled and dug her fork into her salad. As Aurelia was enjoying her lunch break she looked over to her right. A little way down the table sat Draco with that blonde girl. Aurelia rolled her eyes and turned back to continue listening to Issac's story as he told it to her.

The rest of the day was as uneventful as it could have possibly been. They continued to work with Doxies in Care of Magical Creatures and got assigned two rolls of parchment on them due the next day. Aurelia once again didn't pay any attention in History of Magic. She was displeased to know that she had a 12-inch essay on Nicholas Flamel to be handed in the next class, which was Thursday. Aurelia realized that she hated homework.

"Ready for dinner?" Issac yawned as the two of them stepped out of History of Magic.

"Can't. We have detention with Slughorn remember?" Aurelia reminded him.

"Bullocks, I had completely forgotten about that," he groaned.

The two of them reluctantly walked down to the dungeons. Issac knocked on the door to the Potion's classroom and walked in without waiting for an invitation. Inside the room sat Draco Malfoy, Dennis Creevey and Blaise Zabini. Aurelia smirked as her eyes fell upon Creevey. One fifth year Gryffindor amongst four seventh year Slytherins. Enough said.

"Miss Finn, Mr. Roberts. Take a seat and get started on any homework you might have," Slughorn grunted.

Issac and Aurelia exchanged smirks and took a seat on each side of the Creevey boy.

"So, what did you do to get landed in here?" Aurelia whispered to the boy.

"Late to class," he answered, a slight panic in his voice. "What about you?"

"Transfigured a fifth year into a rat and flushed him down the toilet," Aurelia lied.

The boy's eyes went wide and he looked about ready to wet himself. Aurelia let out a silent laugh and took out her Care of Magical Creatures book.

"_The Doxy is a small fairy-like creature that is covered with black hair. They have sharp venomous teeth. Doxies are pests. They can infest houses, taking up residence in the draperies. Removing them requires a good supply of Doxycide. It's a good idea to have an antidote for Doxy venom on hand as well."_

Aurelia had only read the opening paragraph about Doxies and already she was bored. She took two pieces of parchment and removed her wand from her robe pocket. Aurelia first looked up to see if Slughorn was paying attention. He wasn't. Aurelia pointed her wand at each piece of parchment separately and cast the Protean Charm on them.

"Oi, Gryffindor," she muttered to the boy next to her. "Give this to Issac."

She handed the blank piece of parchment to him and gestured to Issac who was sitting on the boy's left side. Dennis Creevey was obviously very afraid of Aurelia so he did as he was told. When Issac received the parchment, he looked curiously at Aurelia.

_Protean,_ Aurelia simply wrote on the parchment and the word then appeared on Issac's.

_**Clever,**_Issac replied, making the words appear to Aurelia.

_I say we have a bit of fun with this Gryffindor._

_**Oh, you mean like the way you told him you flushed a fifth year down the toilet?**_

_AND transfigured him into a rat._

_**You really are mental.**_

_You are positively the most boring Slytherin I have ever met in my life._

_**I am not!**_

_Yes, you are._

_**Fine! I'll do it. Whatever.**_

_No, I don't think I want to anymore, thanks._

_**Arse.**_

Aurelia laughed silently and looked up to see Draco staring at her. She glared at him and he quickly turned his attention back to his homework.

_Draco is beginning to be a right pain._

_**How so?**_

_I don't know. He just is._

_**I think he fancies you.**_

_Right. Just as much as I fancy you._

_**Oh really? Oh my stars! I'm so glad you feel the same way! Will you marry me?**_

_But of course!_

_**Let's get married right now.**_

_Maybe Slughorn will preside over the wedding flutter eyelashes_

_**Yeah and we can make Dennis Creevey your best man.**_

_And Draco Malfoy your bridesmaid._

_**Wait, aren't you supposed to have the bridesmaids?**_

_Not at our wedding!_

Aurelia and Issac both laughed to themselves at their playful banter. It was nice to be able to have someone like Issac as your best friend. There was never pressure from one another to make sure they didn't fall in love or silly nonsense like that. Since it's quite plain and obvious that unless the Apopolips (or whatever those muggles called it) occurred, Aurelia and Issac definitely would never fall in love.

_**Shouldn't you be working on your essay?**_

_Maybe. But I can't concentrate._

_**Why?**_

_Because there is a rather handsome boy talking to me through Charmed parchment._

_**Really? Who?**_

_Shut up Issac. I have homework to do._

_**Now you're telling me. You didn't seem so interested in homework when we were getting married. What about the honeymoon?**_

_I'm not one for honeymoons._

_**Liar. You love sex.**_

_I didn't say I'm not one for sex. I said I'm not one for honeymoons. Big difference._

Issac rolled his eyes and Aurelia grinned. They both agreed to stop talking and continue with their homework. Aurelia was halfway through her Care of Magical Creature's essay when Slughorn told them they could all leave.

"Why hello, Mr. Roberts," Aurelia addressed Issac as she stood next to him.

"Hello, Mrs. Roberts," Issac winked at her.

"Shall we proceed to our lodgings?" Aurelia said in a sophisticated tone.

"We shall," Issac nodded.

They both linked arms and walked gracefully to the Common Room, followed by a pair of glaring silver eyes. They both sat down on the couch and began laughing, glad to be out of Slughorn's classroom.

"I need to finish Hagrid's essay before Astronomy," she sighed.

Issac nodded and they both stopped their fooling around. It was just a few minutes past eleven when Aurelia was finished and satisfied with her essay. She had written one sentence past two rolls of parchment and re-read the essay about four times.

"What is with the sudden interest in homework?" Issac asked, raising an eyebrow?

"What are you talking about? I have no interest in homework," Aurelia muttered taking out her History of Magic book.

"Right," Issac said skeptically. "I'll be right back."

Aurelia waved her hand towards him to indicate that she heard him and continued looking through her book. Issac shook his head and left the Common Room. Aurelia was frantically looking through her copy of _It Happened Once Upon A Time: The Truth Behind the Magic _by Celeste Estrella. Issac came back twenty minutes later with a glass of bright yellow liquid.

"I have something for you," Issac said, holding the glass out to her.

"No time," she murmured frantically.

"Make time," he demanded and closed her book shut.

"What the fuck, Issac!"

"Drink this," he ordered.

"What is it?" Aurelia cocked an eyebrow.

"Drink!"

Aurelia's eye nearly popped out of her head. She quickly grabbed the glass out of Issac's hands and gulped down the yellow drink. It tasted like sunshine. If that was even possible.

"Feel better?" Issac asked.

"So much," Aurelia replied dreamily.

"Good. Calming Draught," he said gesturing to the empty cup. "Got it from Madam Pomfrey, it seemed like you needed it."

"Thanks Issac. You're such a good friend," Aurelia sighed.

She laid back in her chair and took a deep breath. She felt so calm and serene. Nothing could disturb her at the moment.

"Time for Astronomy," Issac said.

"Don't worry. I don't really need to go," she said calmly.

"Yeah, you do. Besides, won't that be so peaceful? Looking up at the night sky?" he tried to convince her.

"You're right that would be peaceful."

Aurelia and Issac climbed to the very top of Hogwarts Castle. It was a long way to go, since they were coming from the very bottom.

They got there just seconds before midnight, making them right on time. The rest of the class was seated and ready for the lesson to begin when they walked in. Aurelia had a delightful smile planted across her face which made all of the Gryffindors and several Slytherins look at her with raised eyebrows.

Issac and Aurelia sat in the back of the class and listened to Professor Sinistra begin the lesson.

"Aurelia," someone whispered from in front of her. "Are you still mad at me?"

"No, of course not," Aurelia smiled to Draco Malfoy.

"Really?" he asked in shock.

"Yes, really. Why would I possibly have any reason to be mad at anybody?"

Draco raised his eyebrows thinking, for a moment, that she was being sarcastic. He saw the pleasant grin on her face and smiled back, satisfied that Aurelia was no longer angry with him. Or so he thought.

"Fourteen inches of parchment on the importance of Orion's belt in the Solar System as opposed to the full Orion Constellation. Due next week," Professor Sinistra concluded the lesson.

A few people groaned but Aurelia was not at all worried that she was beginning to get immense amounts of homework and was sure that she would never find the time to finish it all. She was as calm as she could possible be.

Back at the Common Room, Aurelia hugged Issac goodnight and was left alone. She saw that her things were still scattered across the table from having worked on her homework before her final class. Aurelia hummed to herself as she collected them.

She walked up to the Dormitory, got ready for bed and fell into a deep and peaceful sleep.

"Aurelia," someone called her name. Aurelia smacked around trying to silence them. "Aurelia, get up."

"'ive m're 'inu'es," she mumbled incoherently into her pillow.

"Would you like me to wake you up fifteen minutes before class like I did on the first day of school and have you get detention for being late again?" the person asked. "Let's go! Transfiguration in an hour! Get your arse to breakfast."

At the word 'breakfast' Aurelia's stomach rumbled. She hadn't eaten since lunch the previous day, having missed dinner for detention. Aurelia climbed lazily out of bed and went to the showers. Half an hour later, she walked back into the Dormitory, refreshed. Aurelia dressed in her Slytherin robes, cast a Drought Charm on her hair to dry it, grabbed her things and left to go to breakfast.

The Calming Draught was a little worn off and Aurelia was able to grasp the concept of being late to class and getting detention.

"Morning," she yawned to Issac and Pansy as she sat down to breakfast.

"Feeling…_calm_?" Issac mocked.

"Barely. Damn potion is wearing off," she groaned and poured cornflakes into her bowl.

Issac and Pansy laughed. They ate their breakfast quickly and went to Transfiguration.

"Good morning, Aurelia," Draco said to her as she entered the classroom.

"Don't talk to me," Aurelia replied in monotone.

"Why?"

"Because I have nothing more to say to you," she said in a very uncaring voice.

"Yesterday you said you weren't mad at me anymore," he gaped.

"Yesterday I had chugged an entire glass of Calming Draught, I couldn't have been mad at Potter if he killed my entire family," Aurelia yawned.

Draco's face fell and he remained quiet the rest of class. Though she was no longer under the strong power of the Calming Draught, Issac made sure that she was having a good time. The two of them enjoyed themselves with the Conjuring Charms just as much as they had on Monday. They laughed and fooled around, occasionally torturing unaware Hufflepuffs with jets of water.

After lunch, Hagrid was more than happy with Aurelia's well-written essay. Which was good enough for her.

"I'm not doing any homework tonight," Aurelia said stretching across the couch in the Common Room after dinner.

"Don't you have a History of Magic essay do tomorrow?" Issac asked.

"I'll do it tomorrow at lunch," Aurelia shrugged.

"Here, here!" Pansy chimed.

The three of them laughed and talked about anything that came to mind. As they were in a discussion about what Hagrid would like in a dress, Draco and the Cara girl came into the Common Room. Draco had his arm around her shoulder. Aurelia made a face and turned back to her friends.

"I'll see you in the morning, Draco," the girl said and kissed Draco quickly on the cheek before disappearing into the passage to the Girls' Dormitories.

"Aurelia, can I have a word?" Draco asked, walking up to her.

Aurelia didn't respond, instead she wrote something on a piece of parchment and handed it to him.

"Agitate?" Draco asked, after he read the parchment. "Why did you just write 'agitate' on this parchment?"

"You said you wanted a word. So I gave you a word," she replied nonchalantly and continued on with her conversation. "Actually I think I would give him a nice lilac color."

"Aurelia! For Merlin's sake! Can we please just talk?" Draco said in a frustrated tone.

"We'll be in the Dormitory," Pansy said grabbing Issac by the collar and pulling him towards the Girls' Dorm.

"WHAT!" she exclaimed angrily at Draco. He was a little startled. "What could you possibly want from me now!"

"I want you to stop holding this grudge over me!"

"I'm not holding a grudge! I already told you, I have nothing more to say to you!"

"STOP THAT! That is the fifth time you have told me that! I get it!" Draco began raising his voice.

"Look, I have no intention of arguing with you today. Or ever. So can we please cut the crap? Pansy and Issac are waiting for me in the Dormitory," Aurelia said not too loudly.

"Oh, right. I'm sure your boyfriend _Issac_ will be wanting you to come back," he said Issac's name as though it were a contagious disease.

"Yeah. Issac is definitely my boyfriend," Aurelia said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"Please, there's obviously something going on with you two."

"OK, first of all, Issac is my best friend. He's been my best friend since first year. Second, there are no romantic emotions between Issac and me because he's GAY."

"W-what?" Draco spluttered.

"Yes, gay. Homosexual. Attracted to the same se--"

"I know what gay means!" Draco interrupted. "I just, I had no idea…"

"Yeah, well now you do. What do you care anyway?"

"I don't! I was-I was just erm…," Draco stuttered.

"Uh-hu, I'm leaving," she rolled her eyes again.

"Wait," Draco tried stopping her.

"WHAT!"

"Never mind," he shook his head.

"Whatever," Aurelia turned to leave but then stopped. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about a note I received yesterday morning, would you?"

"No," Draco looked at her dumbfounded.

"Right. Goodnight," she yawned and went to join Pansy and Issac who were sitting comfortably on her bed, looking rather suspicious.

"You were listening," she stated plainly.

"No," Pansy scoffed in an unconvincing tone.

Aurelia rolled her eyes at her.

"Anyway, I think I'm off to bed. It's pretty late," Issac said with a loud yawn.

He hugged Aurelia and Pansy goodbye and was gone without another word. Aurelia changed into her pajamas and slipped under the covers of her bed.

"He fancies you, you know," Pansy said quietly from the bed next to her.

"Who does?" Aurelia picked up her head to look at her.

"Draco," she said shortly and rolled over on her side.

Aurelia laid down and closed her eyes. A smile spread across her face as an image of a very handsome boy with bleach blonde hair invaded her dreams.

* * *

**A/N: Bleh, filler chapter. Everything is going to start moving a lot faster starting with the next chapter, though. So get ready for it. Oh and there you go Cara! You made your very first appearance. I even gave you a line because I'm so generous. Don't worry, you'll be in this a lot more.**

**Reviews make me smile :)**


	10. Pleasant Dreams

**-10-  
**Pleasant Dreams, Helpful Friends and Warm Kisses

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**Summary:** She barely even knew him. Draco Malfoy was just one of those kids she passed in the halls between classes or asked to borrow a piece of parchment from when she had none. Thanks to the Dark Lord, however, Aurelia Finn and Draco Malfoy will soon find out they have a little more than just age and house in common. And maybe a little bit greater of a task than just "that Charms essay due next period" underway.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except my made up character and plot. J.K Rowling owns all else.  
**Warnings:** Sexual Situations, Violence, Character Death, Substance Use/ Abuse, Adult Language, Book 7 Disregarded, Book 6 Events Slightly Altered  
**A/N:** I'm going to be honest. I hate this chapter. I had this thought about making everything move along very fast to make it more interesting. The truth is that I suck at writing like that. I'm more of a procrasinator when it comes to writing. I like to take things very very slowly and I hate rushing the plot. This chapter took me three days to write because I kept getting stuck. I usually sit down in the morning and have a chapter complete by the end of the day because everything just comes to me. I kept getting stuck on this chapter and the quality is probably the lowest out of any of my other ones. So I hope you can forgive me if you don't like this very much.

* * *

The next few months flew by and everything moved so quickly Aurelia was a little shocked. There were bursts of courage, a few romantic risks, dangerous life-threatening situations, really awkward moments and so much more crazy stuff. The chaos started on December twentieth…

"AURELIAAA," someone squealed.

"You better be ready to lose that tongue if you continue to use it," Aurelia groaned from underneath her bed covers.

She had been having a very delightful dream and was rather upset to have it interrupted. It was another like the ones she'd been having for a while now. Where she was spinning and all she saw was silver. Then everything went black and she felt warmth escape throughout her entire being.

"Merlin, I hate you in the morning," Pansy sighed and yanked Aurelia's blanket from her. "Now, you are going to get up, get dressed and get ready to get the hell out!"

"SHIT!" Aurelia quickly realized what day it was and jumped out of bed. "I'M GOING HOME!"

Aurelia danced and yelled cheerful and somewhat cruel goodbyes to every person she passed on her way to the showers.

"HA HA I'M LEAVING!" she would scream happily in someone's face.

"I DON'T HAVE TO SEE YOU FOR TWO WEEKS!" she whooped.

"HAPPY BLOODY CHRISTMAS HOGWARTS!" she yelled at the ceiling.

Pansy just followed her laughing uncontrollably at her reaction. November was a difficult month for Aurelia.

After the first Wednesday of the month, when Pansy told Aurelia that she thought Draco fancies her, Aurelia couldn't get her mind off of him. The following week, she decided to stop being angry at Draco. They had a long conversation in which she apologized for acting childish and said she understood the situation he was in now. She told him that it was wrong for her to blame what was happening with Snape and the Order on him. Draco, in turn, apologized for being such a pest and for getting her detention.

The girl named Cara, whom they learned to be a sixth year, was still dating Draco. It made Aurelia really upset because she found that she developed feelings for him that one night. Aurelia attempted to sabotage their relationship several times which wouldn't have been difficult to do if it wasn't for the fact that she had to make sure Draco had absolutely no idea what she was doing. Draco was really observant.

Issac and Pansy were well aware of Aurelia's feelings for Draco and tried as hard as they could to help her in her quest. Still unsuccessful. After a week or two Aurelia decided that she would no longer keep trying and just wait for them to break up on their own. She saw that it wasn't going to last much longer. Draco and Cara had been fighting constantly. Although they always seemed to make up in the end, the relationship was still skating on thin ice.

"I have better things to do anyway," Aurelia had once told her two best friends.

Of course, her feelings for Draco hadn't dissipated in the slightest. She found herself liking him even more now than he was _definitely_ unattainable. At one point, Aurelia caught herself thinking that maybe that was the only reason she actually liked him. Then Draco's smirk invaded her thoughts. Well, what more is there to say after that sentence?

No, she definitely liked Draco Malfoy. She just had to wait until the opportune moment take him and make him hers. Ha ha dance little monkey, DANCE. Well, maybe not that much.

His presence was unbearable for Aurelia, though. It was like whenever he was in the room she could feel him all around her. It was a bittersweet feeling. She liked feeling him around her but hated it because he was usually with Cara.

Well, November came and went. December was more than halfway gone. And, as Aurelia stood under the hot water of the shower thinking about all these things, the realization came upon her that she had spent nearly half of 1997, single. Granted, Blaise was always trailing after her trying to get her to go out with him. Ever since that Friday night when Aurelia went to meet her "secret admirer" he hadn't left her alone. Aurelia clearly told him that Secret Admirers were a complete turn off for her and that she didn't like him anyway. Blaise didn't give up. He kept trying to get her to like him but she had her mind set on Draco Malfoy.

Aurelia being Aurelia, of course, didn't let the term completely go to waste trying to get to Draco. She had a few one-night stands and a few random snogging sessions but that was it. She was romantically challenged. That's what she decided. Not sexually. No, she would never be sexually challenge, she was good in bed before she even lost her virginity. But that was a few years ago, so it's irrelevant. Well, not really.

"Hurry up! I want to get breakfast before we leave!" Pansy called from the shower next to her.

"Almost done!" Aurelia called back as she rinsed out the last of the conditioner from her hair. "Let's rock n' roll."

"You need to stop trying to make muggle sayings cool," Pansy rolled her eyes and the two walked out with white towels wrapped tightly around their bodies.

"They're hilarious," she laughed. "In a dim-witted sort of way."

Pansy and Aurelia dressed in identically coloured bottle-green robes and went to breakfast. The Hall was filled with Hogwarts students chatting excitedly about the Christmas holiday.

"I expect to see you at my house by noon tomorrow, Issac," Aurelia said to him as she bit into her toast.

"No doubt," Issac nodded.

"And I expect to see all three of you at my Christmas Eve party," Draco said.

"Meh, I'll have to check my schedule," Aurelia shrugged.

"Reli!" Draco gasped in mock surprise.

Aurelia stuck her tongue out at him playfully and they all laughed. Cara just simply glared at Aurelia.

"You'll be there too, right Cara?" Aurelia said in a sugary voice.

"But of course," she stated proudly.

Aurelia "accidentally" failed to mention her New Year's Eve party to Cara. She figured she would tell Draco the day before. Or the day of. Whichever was less convenient for his girlfriend.

Aurelia almost felt bad for treating a fellow Slytherin that way but when push came to shove, she'd be the one shoving.

On the train from Hogsmeade to King's Cross, Aurelia made it her own personal business to make the ride as miserable as possible to everyone that wasn't a Slytherin.

After saying goodbye to Draco, Issac and Cara (well, she just kind of nodded in the girl's general direction, after giving her boyfriend a very long hug), Aurelia and Pansy Dissapparated to the Finn Manor.

"Daddy!" Aurelia called into the depths of her house.

"In the Library, sweetheart!" she heard her father's voice call to her.

Aurelia grabbed Pansy's hand and dragged her up the stairs to the Library. She walked into an extremely large circular room that had its walls completely lined with books of all kinds. Dillard Finn sat in a rather comfortable looking chair at his desk. He stood up to greet his daughter. The two embraced in a heartfelt hug.

"This is Pansy Parkinson," Aurelia said, gesturing to Pansy.

"Pleasure," he shook her hand with a smile.

"Well, I'm sure you two will want to start having fun. I just have a few things to do before supper."

Aurelia nodded and went to her bedroom. The house elf had already taken the liberty of bringing up their trunks.

"I thought you would rather share a room with me than be by yourself in the guest room," Aurelia said showing Pansy the extra bed that had been set up.

The two girls unpacked their things and went straight to the out-of-school activities. They spent the remainder of the day running around the house like five-year-olds. At supper Aurelia and Pansy gave Dillard plenty to laugh about. They told him stories of all the mischief and trouble-making they got into at school. Aurelia's dad wasn't opposed to all of this. He thought it built good character. And by character he meant 'early death eater training'.

"Dad, I was actually wondering something," Aurelia said as the subject came up.

"What is it?" he set down his fork to give his daughter his full attention.

"Do you think you can arrange something for Pansy to be able to join the Death Eaters? She really wants to and I know she'd be terrific. Besides, I can help her."

"And who's going to help you?" he joked. "We'll see what we can do."

"Oh, thank you, sir!" Pansy clapped.

"Not a problem and please, call me Dillard," he smiled.

The three of them finished their supper. Aurelia and Pansy headed off to bed, discussing the awesome possibilities of Pansy becoming a Death Eater.

"And just think," Pansy mused. "Once you take You-Know-Who's place, I'll be the best friend of the Dark Lord."

"Bite your tongue!" Aurelia gasped. "The Dark Lord is not dying!"

"Oh, right. Forgot that has to happen first."

They laughed again, as usual, and continued their conversation. The two stayed up until about two in the morning just having fun when they finally decided to go to sleep.

The next two days were glorious ones. Issac came over in the early morning of the twenty-first and stayed until early morning on the twenty-third. He had to go home the day before Christmas Eve but the two days before it were as much fun as they possibly could have been. It used to always just be Aurelia and Issac but now Pansy was there. It was nice to have another girl around, although with Issac, there wasn't much of a difference whether he was a girl or not. The two days were basically girl outings. Issac had the same taste in guys, clothes, music and every other thing that a straight man would never have in common with two girls. When Issac had to leave Tuesday morning, the girls weren't completely sad about it because they knew they would be seeing him the next day at the Malfoys' Christmas Eve party.

Aurelia and Pansy spent most of the day at Diagon Alley, walking through shops, sitting in cafes and ice cream parlours and just basically causing mischief. The two girls came back a few hours before they had to leave to the Malfoys'.

They each fixed each other's hair and make up. Pansy made sure to work extra hard on Aurelia so she could completely woo Draco. When both girls had finished getting ready they stood in front of Aurelia's full length mirror to look at themselves.

Aurelia had her hair in light curls into which Pansy sprinkled just a slight amount of glitter. Her eyelids were coloured lightly with blue-metal eye shadow. Her long lashes were made even longer and fuller with thick black mascara. The very thinnest part of her eyelids had black eyeliner encircling her hazel-green eyes. Aurelia's full lips were glossy from pink lip shine that Pansy had set upon them and her cheeks had just a dash of cherry blossom blush. Everything from her metal-blue eye shadow to her periwinkle dress robes made her nearly glow.

Pansy on the other hand, wore light pink dress robes and everything to match. Her cheeks were flushed with pink colour, her eyelids enveloped in sweet plum eye shadow. Her lips glistened a natural rose. Pansy's black her was set in a curly updo. **(A/N: Interrupting here a little. This was for all of you fan fiction writers that make party or ball scenes and have the girls put on beautiful elegant dresses and the guys wear suits or tuxes. People. DRESS ROBES! No muggles here. Kaythnx.)**

"Are you ready girls?" Aurelia's dad called from the other side of the door.

"Ready and coming!" Aurelia replied happily.

The two girls stepped out of Aurelia's bedroom. Dillard looked at the two in awe and smiled. A tear nearly welled up in his eye at the sight of his beautiful daughter. Without more than a "you girls look absolutely beautiful", the three went to the sitting room. Dillard grabbed a handful of floo powder and threw it into the fire. He stepped into the now green flames and shouted,

"Malfoy Manor!"

The flames engulfed his entire body and he was gone. Pansy was next to leave and she did so with a quick "good luck" smile to Aurelia. When her friend was gone, Aurelia almost had the urge to sit on her own sofa for a few minutes to collect herself. She didn't, though, because she knew that Pansy would come looking for her. She drew in a deep breath and threw the floo powder into the dancing red flames of her fireplace. They quickly turned to a cold, airy green and Aurelia stepped into the them.

"Malfoy Manor!"

There was a rushing going through her. She felt so compressed within herself that she thought her lungs would collapse. Everything was a blurred sight and then, just as quickly as it began, it stopped. Merlin I hate the floo network, Aurelia thought to herself before she opened her eyes to take in the beauty of the Malfoy Manor sitting room. It was filled with people. The people almost seemed to be looking at her. No, wait, they _were_ looking at her.

Before Aurelia could say or do anything, everyone turned their heads and continued their previous conversations.

"What the hell?" Aurelia said to no one.

"Aurelia! You made it," came a very familiar voice.

She turned her head to see Draco Malfoy walking towards her wearing navy blue dress robes.

"Yeah, I did. Looks great," Aurelia smiled and hugged the boy that invaded her dreams so often.

"Well, come on, no need to be around these stuffy people. We're all out in the garden," Draco said and grabbed Aurelia's hand.

He led her through a few corridors until they finally came to a glass door leading to the garden. What they really stepped into was actually a room with glass walls so it almost felt as though you were outside but without all the unpleasantness of the cold air.

A few familiar faces occupied the chairs in the dome. Blaise Zabini, Issac Roberts, Pansy Parkinson and--to Aurelia's dismay--Cara Boyd.

"Draco, there you are. I was wondering what happened to you," Cara said sweetly.

"I just went to greet Aurelia," he gestured to Aurelia, Cara glared.

"Hi Cara, are you enjoying your holiday?" Aurelia smiled.

Cara gave her a curt nod. Draco sat in Cara's seat and she sat on his lap. Aurelia sat down, grinding her teeth.

The party wasn't as fun as she thought it would be. The five of them sat in the glass room and talked for a couple hours. Cara kept glaring at Aurelia every time she said anything to Draco and Blaise kept trying to make passes at her.

"I have to go freshen up," Cara said and stood up after giving Draco a quick kiss on the cheek.

Just seconds after Cara left, Lucius Malfoy came in through the door.

"If you kids would care to join us for a Holiday Dance, we're starting in a moment," he said with absolutely no emotion in his voice.

Pansy and Aurelia quickly glanced at Blaise who was staring at Aurelia with a smirk on his face.

"Erm, Blaise!" Pansy said quickly. "Want to be my dance partner?"

"Oh, er…alright," he shrugged somewhat disappointed.

Pansy gave Aurelia a look and left the room with Blaise. Issac quickly caught on to what Pansy was doing.

"I don't really know how to dance, I'll sit this one out," Issac said and followed Pansy and Blaise out of the room.

"Cara doesn't seem to be coming back, would you like to dance with me?" Draco said, extending his hand out to Aurelia.

"I would love to," she smiled and put her hand in his.

Draco led Aurelia to the ballroom. The large room was filled with couples, preparing to dance. Draco and Aurelia took a place on the floor. Draco stood facing straight ahead and Aurelia stood next to him. The music started up. Draco put out his left hand, Aurelia placed her right hand in his left. They took a step forward and faced each other. She put her left hand on his shoulder and he put his right hand on her waist, their other hands held each other's. They both began spinning and moving in sync with each other and the rest of the people around them.

All of a sudden, their eyes locked. Everyone in the room was gone. Her feet weren't touching the ground. Aurelia could see nothing except his deep silver eyes. She wanted to be lost in them forever. She wasn't even paying attention to the dance steps yet still did them without flaw. Draco put both of his hands on her waist and lifted her into the air. They spun around once, not taking their eyes off of each other for a moment. They were forced to break their gaze as the next part of the dance called for Draco to lift her hand above his head while she went around him in a perfect circle. As soon as they came face-to-face, their eyes met again. She held his shoulder and his hand tightly as he spun her around the room.

The song ended and everyone stopped their synchronized dance. Something new had come over Aurelia. She now found that she didn't care about anyone that might be watching or anything that might happen as a consequence to her actions. Draco's eyes, those beautiful silver eyes, entrapped her in her own thoughts. All of her better judgement left her and she let her feelings go.

Aurelia took one last long stare into his eyes and then closed her own. She leaned in and felt warm lips on her. The warmth spread from her lips to every inch of her body. This was what she had been waiting for. This was the moment that she had been dreaming about for months. This was exactly how she pictured it to be.

Though it only lasted for a short moment, it was the best feeling in the world.

"Draco, I--" she began.

"Save it. I have to go," he shook his head and left her standing there.

Aurelia drew in a sharp breath. She could almost feel her face burning and her eyes welling with tears. She pushed it all back, though. She wasn't hurt. She was angry.

"What are you doing?" Issac asked when he found Aurelia in the sitting room, taking a handful of floo powder from the mantle.

"Going home."

"What! Why?!" he exclaimed.

"I'm not wanted here and I don't care. Tell Pansy I left and she can come home whenever she likes," she said and threw the floo powder into the fire, making the flames turn a brilliant green. Then, she stepped into the fire and yelled, "Finn Manor!"

"Where's Aurelia?" Pansy asked Issac back at the Malfoy Manor.

"Went home," he shrugged.

"Why!"

"Something about not being wanted here."

"Oh Merlin," Pansy sighed and went off to find Draco.

Aurelia, meanwhile, was throwing a fit in her bedroom.

"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" she muttered angrily as she threw her dress robes off of her.

There were clothes and other things scattered all around the room. Her wardrobe was empty, its contents askew across the floor.

"Aurelia?" someone called from down the hall.

Aurelia froze on the spot at recognizing the voice.

"Shit!" she whispered to herself.

Aurelia quickly went to search for her wand to clean up her mess. Then, she realized she was in her underwear and decided to, instead, put some clothes on. She grabbed random clothes off of her floor and put them on. It was a muggle outfit but Aurelia was just glad it covered her body.

"Aurelia?" came the voice again, sounding closer this time.

She looked around frantically for her wand. Remembering it was in her robes' pocket, she lunged across her bed for the Periwinkle Dress Robes she had worn that night. Before she could recover her wand and clean up her room, however, Draco walked in.

"Aurelia!" he sounded angry. "What do you mean leaving my party like that?"

"Go away, Draco," she said quietly.

"No! I most certainly will not go away!"

"I'm not going to argue with you, Draco," she said just as quietly as before.

"Fine! Then I'm going to argue with you! You can't just up and leave my party like that!"

"Draco…" she whimpered.

"You first of all embarrassed me in front of my friends!" he continued.

"Draco…"

"Not to mention your two friends were fucking holding Cara hostage!"

"Draco…" she said again, not caring what that was supposed to mean.

"Worst of all, you fucking kissed me in front of everybody!"

"GOD DAMN IT, MALFOY!" she yelled. "DO YOU WANT ME TO YELL AT YOU?! FINE! I'M YELLING! I'M SORRY I FUCKING DECIDED TO HAVE ONE DANCE WITH YOU! I'M SORRY MY FRIENDS DID WHATEVER THEY DID TO YOUR PRECIOUS LITTLE GIRLFRIEND! I HAD NO CONTROL OVER THAT! AND I'M SORRY I KISSED YOU! I GUESS IT'S MY FUCKING FAULT YOU'RE SO FUCKING--YOU! I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO SAY IT NOW BECAUSE I HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF A PSYCHOLOGICAL BATTLE GOING ON IN MY MIND AT THE MOMENT! SO EXCUSE ME FOR NOT EXACTLY WANTING TO SIT AROUND YOU AND _CARA_ PRETENDING LIKE NOTHING HAPPENED!"

Draco seemed to be at a loss for words. It could have been because she called him Malfoy for the first time since they've made up. It could have been because she almost just nearly told him she liked him. It could have been because she was screaming at him. Or it could have been because she was almost crying.

"Aurelia, I--" he began, his voice cracking.

"Save it, Malfoy," she repeated his words. "Just leave me alone."

Aurelia turned her back to him, letting Draco take in everything going on. He looked around her room at the angrily thrown clothes covering her floor. He saw the gentle rise and fall of her shoulders as she took in deep breaths to keep herself calm. He heard her words ringing in his ears.

"I'm sorry," he whispered and left.

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**A/N: Gross that sucked. I would love to hear from you. Tell me what you thought. What you liked and didn't like. All kinds of reviews are great. So please, please leave me some :)**


	11. Warm Kisses

**-11-  
**Warm Kisses, Blank Stares and New Powers

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**Summary:** She barely even knew him. Draco Malfoy was just one of those kids she passed in the halls between classes or asked to borrow a piece of parchment from when she had none. Thanks to the Dark Lord, however, Aurelia Finn and Draco Malfoy will soon find out they have a little more than just age and house in common. And maybe a little bit greater of a task than just "that Charms essay due next period" underway.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except my made up character and plot. J.K Rowling owns all else.  
**Warnings:** Sexual Situations, Violence, Character Death, Substance Use/ Abuse, Adult Language, Book 7 Disregarded, Book 6 Events Slightly Altered  
**A/N: **So, I was sitting in the car today. And while everyone else was listening to music or having conversations, I sat thinking. I came to the realization of what went wrong with my previous chapter and why it sucked. I realized that while I was trying to speed things along I didn't rush the plot, I rushed the story. So I had an epiphany. To make this all work, I have to learn how to rush the plot but not rush the story. I sat and thought about it the entire way home and I finally got it. I hope this chapter is better. Enjoy!

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Aurelia awoke the next morning with a splitting headache. She sat up in her bed with a groan to see Pansy still sleeping. Quietly, Aurelia left her room and went to the kitchen. She searched the cabinets for a potion and when she didn't find it she got frustrated, making the headache worse.

"TAWNY!" Aurelia yelled out angrily.

A house elf appeared in front of her with a loud _pop_.

"What can Tawny do for Miss?" the little elf squeaked.

"I have a headache," she grinded her teeth.

"Yes, Miss," the house elf nodded and opened a bottom cabinet.

She pulled out a potion vial filled with a dark purple liquid. Aurelia grabbed it from the elf's hands and poured it down her throat. Within seconds, Aurelia's headache was gone. She dismissed the house elf and went back to her room. Pansy was gone now and Aurelia heard her in the bathroom so she went outside. Aurelia sat on a bench in her garden. It was too cold for her to be sitting out there in her muggle clothes but she didn't care.

She needed somewhere to be alone and just think. She thought about what happened the previous night. She knew she made a mistake in kissing Draco but for that one short moment, it felt so right. It felt like she did exactly what she was supposed to. The look on Draco's face didn't leave Aurelia's memory. She couldn't interpret it. Was it surprise? Anger? It certainly wasn't love. It wasn't anything remotely similar. She was sure of it.

After just a couple of minutes, Aurelia was shivering so hard she thought she would shake right out of her skin. She stood up and went back up to her room. Pansy was still not there, she wasn't in the bathroom either. Aurelia assumed that she was downstairs getting breakfast in the kitchen. She went into her bathroom and locking the door behind her, took a long shower. She let all of her thoughts escape her. She let the warm water wash everything away.

Aurelia left the shower, steam following her out of the door. Pansy was not there so she locked the room. She looked around at the clothes strewn everywhere. She hadn't bothered to clean the night before. Aurelia sighed and went to find her wand. After cleaning up her room, she looked in her wardrobe and decided on burgundy robes for the day. She cast a Drought Charm on her hair and got dressed.

When she was done, Aurelia went downstairs to look for Pansy. When she walked into the sitting room, however, it was not Pansy she found.

"What are you doing here?" she asked crossing her arms.

"I wanted to apologize," Draco answered as he stood up from the couch he was sitting on.

"For what?"

"For yelling at you. For reacting so terribly to you yesterday. I didn't know what to do with myself after the…incident."

"Forget about it," she shook her head.

"I can't."

He was dangerously close to Aurelia and before she knew it his lips crashed down onto hers. Everything felt warm again. His lips emitted a heat that travelled through every inch of her, setting her insides ablaze.

"Why did you do that?" she whispered as they pulled away.

"I did because…because last night was different. It was different than any other kiss. That's part of the reason why I acted the way I did. I came here today because I wanted to know that feeling, to make sense of it. Yesterday was so different."

"And? How did this feel?" Aurelia asked.

"The same…"

"Oh," she sighed disappointed.

"The same as last night," he continued. "But different than any other."

"What about Cara?" Aurelia asked softly.

"I don't care," he shook his head.

"No," Aurelia said quickly. Draco's face fell. "As much as I might seem like a bitch." Draco looked like he was about to interject but Aurelia put her hand up to stop him. "Let me finish. I may do things to hurt people. Physically and emotionally. I may act like a bitch to a lot of people. Most people. But the one thing I won't do is make a person cheat on someone because I know how it feels to be at the other end of that. That is not something I would wish upon anybody, even Cara.

"I think it would be best if we went back to the way we were. Not the way we were before last night. Not the way we were before we became friends. I mean the way we were before this term. I think it would be best if went back to being the way we were every other year of our lives. Not friends and not enemies. Just classmates. I want to only be the girl you occasionally pass in the hall or share a few classes with. Only the girl that every now and then asks to borrow a quill from you in Transfiguration.

"This hurts me. It hurts me more than you can imagine. But you have brought me nothing but pain. That's why this isn't stopping me. I've already had to deal with hurt from you. I think this will be best for both of us. There is too much going on right now. The war, school, my future. Everything that I can't be distracted from. I'm sorry."

Draco stood silent. Aurelia could hear her own heart beating faster than it normally should. She wasn't breathing very much. She knew that if she let out a deep breath, tears would come with it. She didn't want him to see her like that. Not now, not ever.

"Aurelia, I--" he began.

"Please," she stopped him. "Just, please."

Draco nodded. He was about to give her a hug goodbye but stopped himself. He nodded again and walked to the fireplace. He took a handful of floo powder, threw it into the fire, cast one last look at Aurelia and stepped into the flames.

"Malfoy Manor!" he shouted and was gone.

Aurelia let out the breath she had been holding and just as she assumed, tears poured down with it. She let out a few sobs and wiped her eyes. After several calming breaths, she walked into the kitchen to find Pansy. She had barely even noticed Pansy before she threw her arms around Aurelia.

"Reli, what have you done?" she whispered into her shoulder.

"What was right," Aurelia answered nonchalantly.

She didn't want to move or think the rest of the day. Aurelia mainly sat on her bed, listening to the soft pitter-patter of the rain against her window. She could hear herself telling Draco she didn't want him. Every time she thought back to the conversation she hated herself even more. Something came over her in that sitting room. Something made her push Draco away. Though she was sure that in the long run it really was the right thing to do, it didn't feel right at the moment.

What felt right was kissing him. That felt more justifiable than anything that had happened the past two days. It was gone now. She tried to sit and remember the warmth that kiss gave her but nothing could regenerate that feeling.

Pansy tried several times to talk to Aurelia. To get her mind off of it but every time Pansy talked to her all she got in reply was a nod, a shake of the head or near-silent grunt. Aurelia simply sat staring blankly at bare wall in front of her.

At seven o' clock Aurelia's father came home. He walked into her room but his daughter didn't even seem to want to speak to him.

"Aurelia, what's the matter, darling?" he asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Aurelia shook her head, not pulling her gaze away from the wall. Her father looked worried. He left her room to give her peace and quiet. A minute later, Pansy came in to try and talk to her again. Aurelia didn't say a word. Pansy left her alone. Another minute later, Tawny came in to ask something about dinner. Frustrated, Aurelia stood up from her bed, let out a frustrated scream and Apparated to her attic room. There, she felt peace envelope her.

Aurelia laid down on the small twin-sized bed and curled up into a ball. She let tears fall. She knew no one would disturb her up there so she held nothing back. After a long while, she fell silent once more. The headache that had disturbed her early in the morning was back again. She tried to ignore it. She wouldn't have cared if she swallowed a dozen galleons and a Niffler was trying to dig his way into her inside to retrieve them. To her, it felt like no physical pain could compare the one she was feeling from Draco.

It was nearly eleven o' clock when something pulled Aurelia out of her trance. A prickling on her left arm. Aurelia looked at the forearm to see the Dark Mark calling her. Unwillingly, she collected herself and Dissapparated. She came to rest at a familiar field. This was the field that she cast the Cruciatus Curse on Draco in. The field that she first took on a mission with Draco. The field where her three-day adventure with him started.

"My fellow Death Eaters," the Dark Lord began. "I have news. A spy! Yes, another of the Order of the Phoenix's spies tried to come into our midst today. She had been young so I would not have ever suspected the girl. But alas, I did suspect her. She had apparently been working her way into the trust of a few of our own for quite some time. She goes by the name of Cara Boyd."

Aurelia drew in a deep breath. It was now, for the first time since she got there, that she realized Draco was not next to her. Lucius and Draco changed spots in the circle. She tried to glance sideways at him but couldn't see without turning her head. She couldn't imagine what was going through his mind right now.

"This young girl was sixteen. She came to me asking to join our ranks. She pleaded with me, telling me that it has always been her dream. I saw right through her, though. With a little help from an old friend by the name of Veritaserum, I was able to find out that she worked for the Order. So, all is well."

So many thoughts were buzzing through Aurelia's mind that she couldn't even sort them out. She slapped herself mentally to focus on what the Dark Lord was saying.

"There is rumour of Potter's whereabouts. He spent the summer and every weekend of the school term searching for my Horcruxes. He has left Hogwarts a month ago for good as I'm sure Miss Finn and Mr. Malfoy will have noticed. Potter has but one Horcrux left to destroy. This-can-not-be-accomplished. Tonight, half of you will be stationed to protect my Horcrux. As I'm sure he won't be trying anything at all tonight, I don't need you all there. Tomorrow, however, each and every one of you are to be stationed there. I have no doubt in my mind that Potter and several members, if not all, from the Order of the Phoenix will be coming. I must ask you all to keep in mind how important this is. If Potter succeeds in destroying the last of my Horcruxes, I will be mortal. He will be able to kill me only too easily."

There were a few nods from around her and Aurelia's heart sank. She knew what that would mean. As much as the thought excited her she knew that she would never be able to handle the responsibility. She hoped with every fibber in her being that everything would turn out alright.

"Dismissed," he barked.

Aurelia Dissapparated. She didn't Apparate back in her attic room. Instead she came to a jolting stop in her living room, facing her father.

"Aurelia…" he began but she shook her head.

Over her father's shoulder she could see the Christmas Tree sparkling in the corner. She had completely forgotten it was Christmas. All the thoughts of Draco and the events of the previous night had set her off completely. When he dad saw what she was looking at, Aurelia's dad smiled.

"Yours are still there," he gestured towards a few unwrapped presents laying under the tree.

Aurelia kneeled down in front of the Tree and examined the tags on all of the presents. There was one from Issac and one from Pansy. She rolled her eyes as she saw a small one marked from Blaise. A present from her mother, her grandmother and grandfather and one from her daddy. The last present which was wrapped neatly in silver made her heart feel like it fell to the pit of her stomach.

_Aurelia_

_From Draco_

_Happy Christmas_

It was so simple yet it made her glow from the inside. She set the present to the side and went on opening the ones from everyone else. They were really good presents and she loved all of them. She personally thanked Pansy and her dad for the ones they gave her. Aurelia ordered Tawny to take them all up to her room. All of them except for the one from Draco which still sat unwrapped. She took this one and turned it over a few times. Then, she Apparated to her attic room where she would not be disturbed.

Aurelia sat on her bed and sighed. Something in her didn't want to open the box. It was so small and so plain. But something about the silver wrapping made her feel warm. Aurelia drew in a deep breath and began peeling back the silver paper. The box inside was slim. It could have been a necklace. Or a bracelet. Without waiting, she opened the black box.

In it, was a quill.

Aurelia cried.

"In case you need to borrow one," she sobbed as she read the small note.

It was probably the least expensive of any of her gifts but it was the most valuable. Aurelia thought back to the first time they had spoken.

_"Draco," she whispered. "You wouldn't happen to have a quill I can borrow, would you?"_

_"I would. Would you like to borrow it?" Aurelia nodded. "Sucks to be you then, doesn't it?"_

_Aurelia scowled then quickly wiped the unpleasant expression off of her face._

_"Please? I'm desperate," she added sweetly._

_"What's in it for me?" he asked slyly._

_Aurelia shrugged but had a pleading look in her eyes. Draco sighed and handed her a dark grey quill from his bag._

_"Thank you!" she whispered quickly and began copying the notes off the chalkboard._

Aurelia gazed at the dark grey quill sitting in her lap, tears falling like raindrops from her eyes. She looked at the note again.

_In case you need to borrow one_, it read.

She thought back, now, to what she told Draco earlier that very same day.

"_I think it would be best if we went back to the way we were. Not the way we were before last night. Not the way we were before we became friends. I mean the way we were before this term. I think it would be best if went back to being the way we were every other year of our lives. Not friends and not enemies. Just classmates. I want to only be the girl you occasionally pass in the hall or share a few classes with. Only the girl that every now and then asks to borrow a quill from you in Transfiguration."_

"Only the girl that every now and then asks to borrow a quill from you in Transfiguration," Aurelia sobbed, repeating her own words.

She put the quill back into its box along with the note and closed it. Looking at thing made her cry harder and feel worse than she could have imagined. Setting the box on her nightstand, Aurelia curled into a ball on her bed and wept.

A strange prickling came on her left arm. Aurelia fell silent and looked at her Dark Mark.

"Again?" she asked herself.

Though she thought it strange, Aurelia Dissapparated. She was not in the field she was in earlier. This time, she was in a small room and no one else was there. Only her and the Dark Lord.

"My Lord?" she said although it sounded like a question.

"I called you hear tonight because I think it's time you received something," he began explaining. Aurelia raised her eyebrows behind her mask. "Give me your arm."

Aurelia assumed he meant the arm with the Dark Mark and extended her left arm to him. The Dark Lord's long, white fingers grabbed her wrist and pulled it to him. He took out his wand and pointed it to Aurelia's Dark Mark. Aurelia couldn't hear the incantation he muttered. She only felt a tingling cold trace the outline of the tattoo.

"Are you wondering what I just did?" he asked. Aurelia nodded slowly. "You now have one of my powers, Miss Finn. You have the power to summon Death Eaters to you as do I. My time is nearing, Miss Finn. Though it's hard to say and I'm sure it's hard to hear, I might be killed soon. If Potter succeeds in the destruction of my Horcrux tomorrow, you will have to conceive my child as was our agreement. If Potter succeeds in the destruction of my Horcrux tomorrow, I will be killed. Probably very soon. Mortals die easily. I wouldn't put it past Potter to want to kill me on the spot but if I know him, he won't do it.

"With this power that I have granted you, I have given you a gift. You may summon the Death Eater's at any moment. You may even summon me. Also, as I have done here tonight, you may summon certain Death Eaters at a time. Simple touch your wand to your own Dark Mark and very clearly, speak their first and last name. If you wish the presence of everyone, touch your wand to your own Dark Mark, hold it there for a long moment and they will come."

"Thank you, My Lord," Aurelia bowed, completely overwhelmed.

"Go now," he nodded.

Aurelia bowed once more and Dissapparated. She examined the tattoo on her left forearm with awe. Everything was happening so quickly. She was so afraid and yet, not so much.

A part of her wanted to call Draco to her. She decided against it.

Aurelia went to her real bedroom. Pansy was sitting on her own bed, reading a book.

"How are you feeling, Reli?" she looked up when Aurelia entered the room.

"Good and terrible," she said. "Terrible for all the same reasons but good for something new."

Aurelia sat on Pansy's bed and explained what just happened between her and the Dark Lord.

"Wicked! Can you try it out?" Pansy said eagerly.

"I don't see why not," she shrugged. Aurelia took out her want and touched it to her Dark Mark. "Dillard Finn."

A second later there was a loud _crack_ and Aurelia's father stood before them in his Death Eater robes. He looked around and took off his mask.

"So you've got it," he said with a smile that indicated he knew exactly what was going on.

Aurelia's father chuckled merrily and hugged her. He told her he was happy for her and he was so proud. He warned her not to abuse her power but rather cherish it. He told her to use it whenever she was in trouble and needed help. He also told her he loved her.

"Your dad is great," Pansy smiled when he left.

"He is," Aurelia nodded. "Always looking out for me. Always making sure I've got the best in life."

"What about your mother?" Pansy asked.

"Leandra? Wretched woman. Never cared for me the way father does. I haven't seen her in a long while. My grandmother is very ill and Leandra moved in with her during the summer."

"Oh," Pansy simply said.

Aurelia decided to get ready for bed. After brushing her teeth and changing into her pyjamas, she told Pansy she would spend the night in the attic and Apparated there.

Aurelia sat on her bed. She was battling with her thoughts. Everything in her mind was a jumbled together and messed up. She barely knew right from wrong. She barely understood anything. After sitting there for five minutes she decided enough was enough. She forced her mind to think what she wanted.

Aurelia took out her wand and gripped it in her hand tightly. She extended her left arm in front of her. Aurelia set her wand onto her Dark Mark and said clearly,

"Draco Malfoy."

* * *

**A/N: WOAH! OK, I know what you're thinking, cliff-hanger! Yes, that's right. Now watch me as I cackle evilly at your anger. BUWAHAHAHAHA! Alright, now that I got that out of the way, on to more important matters. Yes, I did just publish Chapter 10 earlier today. However, I don't think it matters how long it takes me to write a chapter, I think what matters is the chapter's quality. And damnit this was like four bajillion times better than Chapter 10. So let's see, Chapter 10 took me three days to write and it sucked. Chapter 11 took me a few hours and it's good! That's the way I write. When I actually have a good idea and know what I'm doing, it all just flows.**

**I also think you'll agree that I did a much better job at rushing the plot. And I didn't rush the story. Rushed the plot, not the story. I'm sure that concept doesn't sound like it makes sense but just look at the difference between my two chapters and I think you'll feel that concept.**

**Kay, enough rambling from me.**

**REVIEW! :D**


	12. New Powers Part 1

**-12-  
**New Powers, Devastating Defeats and Sorrowful Visits  
Part 1

* * *

**Summary:** She barely even knew him. Draco Malfoy was just one of those kids she passed in the halls between classes or asked to borrow a piece of parchment from when she had none. Thanks to the Dark Lord, however, Aurelia Finn and Draco Malfoy will soon find out they have a little more than just age and house in common. And maybe a little bit greater of a task than just "that Charms essay due next period" under way.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except my made up character and plot. J.K Rowling owns all else.  
**Warnings:** Sexual Situations, Violence, Character Death, Substance Use/ Abuse, Adult Language, Book 7 Disregarded, Book 6 Events Slightly Altered  
**A/N: **I'm taking a little bit of a literary license here. So there are a few things you need to know about my story. Once again, the "Book 6 Event Slightly Altered" and "Book 7 Disregarded" stuff comes into play. Number one, Harry Potter is not the final Horcrux. Bite me. Number two, Nagini is the final Horcrux but is not killed by Neville at Hogwarts. Number three, all the Horcruxes are destroyed by this point except Nagini. Number four, Ron and Hermione do not go into the Chamber of Secrets during the Battle of Hogwarts. I think that's about it. Alright, you may continue to read.

Aurelia took out her wand and gripped it in her hand tightly. She extended her left arm in front of her. Aurelia set her wand onto her Dark Mark and said clearly,

"Draco Malfoy."

After just a couple of seconds, a man with black robes appeared in front of Aurelia.

"Aurelia?" questioned Draco, removing his mask curiously. "What are you doing here? Where's the Dark Lord?"

"I guess I have some explaining to do," Aurelia answered hesitantly. Draco nodded curtly. "Well, I've just been to see the Dark Lord. He gave me this new power, see? To summon Death Eaters the way he does. He thinks he doesn't have much time left to live. What with Potter going after his last Horcrux."

"Wait, he thinks he doesn't have much time left? Does that mean that you're already…" he trailed off and his eyes turned to her stomach.

"Not yet," she shook her head. "But I will be if Potter succeeds in destroying the last Horcrux tomorrow. Or tonight. It seems that the Dark Lord isn't hesitant to make me his successor."

"Of course he isn't," Draco muttered coldly.

"What do you mean by that?" Aurelia raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing, it's just that," he paused. "It's just that, when I joined the Death Eaters I had every intention of being the next great generation. Then all of a sudden you came along and stole my thunder!"

"Stole your thunder?! Is that what you think I did?! First of all, when I joined the Death Eaters I had no idea you were even going to be one of us! I thought there was no way in hell the Dark Lord would want you after last year! Second, I am not stealing any thunder! You want to be impregnated against your will, be my fucking guest!"

"Well, if you're done yelling at me, I have better things to be doing. It's late. Goodnight," Draco said coldly and Dissapparated.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to no one. "I didn't mean to do what I did. I didn't mean to kiss you and then take off from your party. I didn't mean to push you away when you came closer. I thought that it was the right thing to do. There were N.E.W.Ts to worry about at school. Then there was this stupid war and I was trying to be the best damn Death Eater I could, knowing full well that I could be pregnant or dead by tomorrow. I don't want a child! I certainly don't want a boyfriend to whom that child doesn't belong to either. Not that I'm saying you wanted to be my boyfriend but either way that possibility seemed out of the question.

"There were too many things going on around me so I thought that if I hid myself away from you, it would be easier to deal with. Then I saw the present you got me. And I mean it was a fucking quill! Yet it made me realize what it is I did. How wrong I was in telling you everything that I told you today.

"I don't want you to feel like it's your fault. I don't want you to feel like I don't want you in my life because I do! I just didn't think that I could handle having you in my life at the moment. I could barely handle having anyone. Plus there was Cara. Of course she's gone now. Unless you loved her. Damn, I didn't event think about that. Maybe you're not going let her go even though she was just using you to spy on all of us. And maybe--"

She stopped speaking, realizing that she was talking to the wall. She let out a loud sob and threw the box containing the quill Draco gave her across the room. It hit the door and cracked open, spilling its contents. Aurelia fell onto her bed and a very disturbed sleep overcame her.

It was dawn when Aurelia was awakened by a prickling on her left arm. She slowly opened her eyes and let out a huge yawn. Standing up from her bed she stretched and Dissapparated.

Aurelia came to rest near a place she had only heard stories about. The Riddle House.

She looked up at the estate. It had a looming feeling. As though you knew something bad had happened there--or will happen there--just by standing near it. Several more Death Eaters stood with her looking up at the large house the same way. Behind her, Aurelia saw the infamous graveyard that was rumoured to be the place the Dark Lord took Potter to three years ago to be revived to full power.

The Death Eaters around her began walking up to the Riddle House and Aurelia followed in pursuit. They all entered the front door, their wands extended in front of them. They came face-to-face with about two dozen more Death Eaters, all pointing their own wands threateningly at them. When everyone recognized each other, they lowered their weapons. Aurelia and the new group took their places stationed all around the home as was instructed to them.

Aurelia was not far from the house's entrance in the West Wing. She noticed that most of everybody was guarding the upstairs. She figured that's where the Horcrux was.

After a few hours of waiting, there came loud noises and jets of light from the direction of the door. Aurelia saw Potter standing at the head of at least thirty Order members. Among them she recognized Cara Boyd. Without hesitating, Aurelia advanced towards her. She shot a stunning spell at the girl who moved out of the way just in time.

"BOYD!" Aurelia yelled to Cara and she whipped around to look at a faceless Death Eater.

"Finn? Is that you?" she questioned recognizing her voice, her wand still raised.

Aurelia began stepping back in order to lure Cara to the hallway she had been guarding to be out of the way of the many curses flying everywhere. Cara walked toward her cautiously as they talked.

"So it's true then, you were a spy!" Aurelia barked behind her mask. "Bloody terrible one if you ask me."

"Like you could have done any better!"

"I could have! But I wouldn't have tried! I would never betray the Dark Lord!" she screamed.

"We'll see if that's how you feel when he DIES!" Cara scorned.

"You keep believing that," she scoffed. "So tell me, why did you do it? Did you think you would come out a big hero? Because that's Potter's job. To be the hero."

"I did it for revenge!" she spat. "I was once, a long time ago, a firm believer in you and your people! Then you lot went and killed my mother. For no reason! Just because you felt like it! Just because she was a half-blood!"

"Half-blood? She deserved it then!" Aurelia laughed.

"How dare you!" Cara growled. "Stupefy!"

"Expelliarmus!" Aurelia countered.

The stunning spell didn't hit her and Cara's wand, instead, flew from her hand.

"I have been wanting to do this for so long," Aurelia grinned evilly. "But first let me tell you a few things. You took Draco from me. That is why I wanted to do this in the first place. Not only that, you betrayed everything I stand for and that is why this is going to be twice as sweet."

"What are you--" Cara began.

"Say goodbye Cara Boyd," Aurelia smirked and lifted her mask from her face. "Avada Kedavra!"

There was a flash of green light and before the blonde could say much more, she fell. A satisfied smile spread across Aurelia's face as she looked at the lifeless body in front of her. It felt so good. Aurelia had never killed anybody before but this felt so good. Perhaps it was the vengeance of the thing. Maybe it might not feel so good to kill anyone at random. This, though, felt great.

She placed her mask firmly back over her face and went to join in the fight with the rest of the Lord's followers. After what seemed liked an endless battle, the remaining Order members, including Potter, fled. The Death Eaters all cheered and clapped at the victory. Quite a few were dead. There were about three times as many Order casualties, though.

In the excitement of the celebrating, no one noticed the Dark Lord slowly descend the stairs, holding something in his arms.

"SILENCE!" he shouted and everyone fell still.

No one dared move or speak. They all stared at the Dark Lord. It was difficult to see what he had enclosed in his arms but everyone suspected it wasn't anything good.

"Aurelia Finn!" he barked. "Come with me."

Aurelia's heart sank. The Dark Lord had now turned around and was walking back up the stairs. After a quick glance to all the staring masks, she followed. The room at the top of the staircase was fairly small. There was a low crackling fire lit on the right wall. At the hearth was an empty rug covered in blood.

"My Lord I--" Aurelia began to say.

"Quiet!" he ordered and walked to the small red-spattered circle of woven wool that lay upon the cold wooden floor. He opened his arms and Aurelia gasped at what fell out of them. There, on the rug, lay a snake. A very large snake with its head cut off.

"My Lord?" Aurelia asked.

"My final Horcrux," he sighed. "My Nagini."

Aurelia shook her head. She didn't know how to respond or how to react. She knew what was coming next. She knew what was going to have to be done.

"You know what happens now, I presume," the Dark Lord looked over at her. Aurelia nodded slowly. "Sit."

He motioned to an arm chair in front of the fireplace. Aurelia sat in it and was now completely facing the lifeless snake. It was curled at her feet, blood oozing from the place where a head should have been.

No one knew what happened up in that room. The Dark Lord never revealed to anyone how Potter had taken out the snake. Everyone assumed it was too hard to admit. No one except for Aurelia and the Dark Lord knew exactly what happened in that room afterwards, either. Everyone heard Aurelia's screams and saw the flashes of light but no one was sure. All they saw was Aurelia descending the stairs with tears in her eyes and a hand on her stomach.

She didn't stay to tell anyone anything. She didn't speak to anyone or look at anyone. A couple of familiar men tried to stop her but she kept walking until she was out-of-way from the protective charms encircling the house and Dissapparated.

She was so tired and so upset that she slept in her attic room for hours. When she awoke once more, it was just past dinnertime. She didn't want to speak to anybody or see anybody. She knew her father and Pansy would ask her all amounts of questions and she didn't want to deal with it.

"Tawny!" she called out feebly.

A small house elf appeared in front of her holding a dusty rag in her hand. The elf's big brown eyes stared up at Aurelia, obediently awaiting an order.

"I want my dinner up here," Aurelia said quietly.

The house elf nodded and disappeared. Aurelia laid back on her bed and waited in silence. A minute or two later, there was a knock at the door.

"May Tawny come in, Miss? Tawny has Miss' dinner," a squeaky voice called after the knock.

"Come in, Tawny," Aurelia said and the door opened slightly.

"Your dinner, Miss," the elf bowed, handing a silver tray to Aurelia. "If Tawny may say, Miss. Master is worried. Tawny is not knowing what bother Master. Master not want come out of study. Master not want talk. And Mistress friend worry too. Tawny think it is Mistress they worry for."

"I know, Tawny," Aurelia nodded sadly. "I know."

The house elf bowed to Aurelia again and left the room, closing the door behind her. Aurelia sighed at her food and began to pick at it. She was about to take a spoonful of rice into her mouth but decided against it. Food made her feel worse. She set the tray down and sighed deeply.

After nearly another hour, Aurelia finally decided to go downstairs and face her father and best friend. Remembering that Tawny said her father had spent the entire day in the study, that's where Aurelia headed. She found her father sitting at his desk, rubbing his temples.

"Daddy?" she said quietly and he looked up at her eagerly. "I'm pregnant."

"I thought you might be," he smiled. "Have a seat."

Aurelia sat down silently and crossed her arms over her lap. Her father looked at her with loving eyes. It wasn't the reaction any normal father would have to any normal teenage girl's normal pregnancy. Then again, none of any of this was normal. This was all very strange and still somewhat overwhelming for her.

"Daddy, I'm scared," she whimpered.

"I'm sure you are sweetheart but it will all be OK soon, I promise," he held her hand reassuringly. "It's normal to be scared. This is a big step for you. I know you're only seventeen but everything will turn out just fine. This is no normal pregnancy."

"Yeah, no kidding," she rolled her eyes.

"All I mean is that this is an important baby. You and him will be taken very good care of, I can assure you."

"I'm still uneasy about it all. Like you said, I'm only seventeen. I'm still in school. I have exams and my entire future to worry about. I don't want to raise the Heir of Slytherin yet. Maybe if I had had more time to think about this. I want to do it I'm just not sure I'm ready."

Aurelia could almost feel the tears beginning to form in her eyes. She tried to hold them back as hard as she could.

"Aurelia, it's OK, you can cry," he said softly and put his arm on Aurelia's shoulder.

"I don't need to cry," she shook her head. "Excuse me."

With that, Aurelia stood up from the chair she sat in and walked quietly out of her father's study. She went up a few flights of stairs to her bedroom and knocked on the door.

"Come in?" Pansy's unsure voice called from inside.

Aurelia slowly opened the door and peered in. Pansy was sitting on her bed picking at her nails. She looked up and quickly jumped out of bed when she saw Aurelia. Without saying anything they both walked over and hugged each other.

"What happened? I was so worried," Pansy said earnestly.

"I'm pregnant," Aurelia shrugged acting as though it were no big deal.

"WHAT!" she gasped. "You're--So he's--Is he?

"No, he's not dead. The Horcruxes are destroyed though."

"Whoa…" Pansy exhaled.

"I just thought I'd come talk to you. The house elf told me you and dad were worried," she said and Pansy nodded. "I'm going to go take a shower, alright?"

Pansy nodded again and let Aurelia go. She walked to the bathroom and locked the door behind her. She got into the shower and began to cry under the water but very quietly so that no one could hear her.

She rubbed her hand over her stomach. There obviously won't be any signs of pregnancy as she had only been pregnant for a few hours. Still, she didn't feel like the same person any more. It was just a psychological thing but it made her feel physically different.

While thinking about the child, her thoughts quickly shifted to Draco. She wondered if things would ever be the same--or better--with them ever again. She cursed at herself for letting him go. No, she didn't let him go. She pushed him out of the fucking door with a gang of Basilisks. She might as well have. That might have been easier to forgive.

She spent so much time underneath the hot water that it began turning cold. She shut off the faucet and climbed out of the shower. Wrapping a towel around her body, she walked back into her bedroom. Pansy was fast asleep on her own bed. Aurelia made sure to be as quiet as she could while walking over to her wardrobe. Aurelia picked out a set of dark green robes and crept quietly out of her room. She went to the attic room and got dressed.

It was nearly ten o' clock when Aurelia was dry and fully dressed. A lot of thoughts flooded her mind at that very moment. The very moment before she did something that she knew may or may not change her entire life. At least her life at the time.

This might not work. This might turn out to be a huge disaster. It might all be messed up somehow. Maybe doing this is the stupidest thing a person could do. This might just screw up her future in the world.

All these thoughts clouded her mind but Aurelia didn't care. She ignored every thought that passed by and focused on the task ahead.

Destination, Determination, Deliberation, she thought. Aurelia was so nervous, she felt like she was Apparating for the first time in her life. Destination, Determination, Deliberation, she thought again. She told herself that she knew perfectly well on how to Apparate. Malfoy Manor, she thought diligently, turned on her heal and was gone with a _crack._

* * *

**A/N: HA HA another cliff-hanger! No, no. Calm down you whiny babies. There's a part 2 to this chapter which will be up later today. I just wanted to torture you.**

**I have two more things to say. **

**Number one, thank you for putting up with my extreme literary freedom in this chapter. I changed quite a few things from the original plot of Harry Potter, not to mention I made it possible to impregnate someone by magic. It's powerfully advanced magic though, so don't try it at home kids! ;)**

**Second, sorry for killing you Cara! I knew I was going to do it, I just didn't think you would have such a small part in between. That's why I added the little spy thing in there. Just to give you a little bit of a bigger role before you died. I was originally just planning on you and Draco breaking up and Aurelia killing you for "stealing Draco" away from her. That worked too though. HAHAHA! Seriously, though, sorry.**


	13. New Powers Part 2

**-12-  
**New Powers, Devastating Defeats and Sorrowful Visits  
Part 2

* * *

**Summary:** She barely even knew him. Draco Malfoy was just one of those kids she passed in the halls between classes or asked to borrow a piece of parchment from when she had none. Thanks to the Dark Lord, however, Aurelia Finn and Draco Malfoy will soon find out they have a little more than just age and house in common. And maybe a little bit greater of a task than just "that Charms essay due next period" underway.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except my made up character and plot. J.K Rowling owns all else.  
**Warnings:** Sexual Situations, Violence, Character Death, Substance Use/ Abuse, Adult Language, Book 7 Disregarded, Book 6 Events Slightly Altered  
**A/N: **See? I told you I would have a part 2 out later today. Here it is!

* * *

Aurelia stood in front of the wrought-iron gates of the Malfoy Manor. She had not thought on how she was going to get into the property. For a moment, Aurelia considered climbing the fence but shook that thought out of her mind when she realized she wasn't a muggle and neither were the Malfoys. She wouldn't be able to get in that way. Aurelia explored several different possibilities, each as bad as the next.

"Bloody hell! Let me in! I'm not going to go and kill them!" she yelled at the gate. "I'm a Death Eater! See?" She pulled back her sleeve and held up her left arm which bore the Dark Mark. "Death-Eater!"

Aurelia made a move to hit the gate with her extended left arm but it went right through the metal. Aurelia waved her hand back and forth through it. It seemed as though the metal bars of the gate suddenly turned to smoke at her touch. Aurelia tried her luck and walked through. It worked.

She stood on the other side of the gate, looking up at the place and all its glory. This was a place she recognized from many spent Christmas Eve nights. Aurelia only now paused to wondered how she had been to the Malfoy Manor every year for Christmas Parties since she turned thirteen and never once made friends with Draco. Odd.

Aurelia made her way up the gravel path to the front door of the Malfoy Manor. With a short hesitation, Aurelia grabbed the silver serpent-knocker and banged it against the door. The knock made a hollow echo on the large oak door. Aurelia stood nervously on the doorstep, waiting.

The door opened without a sound on its well-oiled hinges. A house elf stood at the doorway, looking up at Aurelia.

"Is Draco here?" she asked.

The house elf nodded and went inside, leaving the door open for Aurelia to walk in. She stepped into the front hall of the Malfoys' and waited patiently. After a minute, Draco walked in from the area of the sitting room. Upon seeing Aurelia, however, he sighed angrily and began walking away again.

"Draco, wait!" she called and he turn sourly on his heel to face her.

"What are you doing here?" Draco asked through gritted teeth.

"I came to see you," she answered. Draco's expression grew even more displeased. "I want to know why it is you're so mad at me all of a sudden!"

"I think you need to take the time for a vivid flashback of yesterday's events."

"Draco, I'm sorry!" she exclaimed.

"Oh, right. That settles everything, then," Draco glowered sarcastically.

"I am! I made a mistake and I'm sorry! What do I have to do to prove that to you?" she cried out.

Draco looked infuriated, he took out his wand and advanced towards her menacingly.

"Beg," he snarled in her ear as he held his wand up to her neck.

"Draco, don't," was all Aurelia got out.

"Not good enough," he growled angrily. "Cru--"

"No!" she yelled and fell to her knees, clutching her stomach. Draco stopped and looked at her curiously. "Draco, don't. I'm pregnant. Don't."

Draco's eyes widened and he lowered his wand. He fell to her side and examined her entire figure. Aurelia was holding back tears. Her cheeks began getting hot and her eyes burned as she tried keeping them open, knowing that tears would fall if she blinked. Aurelia drew in a deep breath, suppressed the water that threatened to flow down her cheeks and shut her eyes tightly.

"Aurelia, I didn't know…" Draco whispered.

"Coming here was a bad idea," she shook her head, not opening her eyes. She stood up slowly, discreetly rubbing her eyes on her robe before she tore them open. "I'll just leave."

"Aurelia," Draco called as she opened the door.

She ignored him and stepped outside into the cold winter air. Her hot cheeks prickled from the low temperature as though being prodded with needles. She screwed up her face and walked briskly down the walkway, the icy gravel crunching loudly beneath her feet.

"Aurelia! Wait!" Draco called to her from the doorway but she ignored him.

Aurelia could hear his hurried footsteps behind her so she picked up her pace. She had only gotten as far as in front of the gate when a pair of hands stopped her.

"Draco, please," she whimpered. "Just let me leave."

"Aurelia, I'm sorry. I really didn't know," he said, turning her to face him.

"Forget it," she shook her head.

"I didn't know," he repeated quietly.

"Draco I'm sorry," she threw her arms around his neck, unable to contain herself any longer. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. For absolutely everything. I'm sorry for everything and then some. I was stupid. I still am. I'm sorry."

Draco didn't reply, he simply rubbed her back in slow up and down movements. Aurelia felt a few tears sting her frozen cheeks. She stopped any more from falling and brushed her face against Draco's shoulder as she pulled away, to get rid of them.

"I should go," she whispered and turned away from him.

Draco wanted to say something to her but couldn't come to the proper words. By the time he had worked out what to say, there was a _crack_ and she was gone.

Aurelia fell unto her bed and cried. She didn't really expect that to go better than it did. A part of her wished that it would have. Actually, all of her wished that it would have.

* * *

**A/N: I know that was short. Don't forget, though, that this and the previous was all the same chapter. I didn't break it up like this because it would have been too long, I broke it up like this to torture you guys with another cliff-hanger. Buwahaha. So anyway, that concludes chapter 12. There won't be anymore until after the weekend. I'm going camping. That's why it was important I got all of this out today because I'm leaving for three days tomorrow. Well, hope you enjoyed it.**

**Any description as to the outside of the Malfoy Manor was made possible by the first two pages of Chapter 1 ****"****The Dark Lord Ascending****"**** in **_**Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows**_**.**

**Reviews are super duper :D**


	14. Sorrowful Visits

**-13-  
**Sorrowful Visits, Shaking Parties and Heavy Snow

* * *

**Summary:** She barely even knew him. Draco Malfoy was just one of those kids she passed in the halls between classes or asked to borrow a piece of parchment from when she had none. Thanks to the Dark Lord, however, Aurelia Finn and Draco Malfoy will soon find out they have a little more than just age and house in common. And maybe a little bit greater of a task than just "that Charms essay due next period" under way.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except my made up character and plot. J.K Rowling owns all else.  
**Warnings:** Sexual Situations, Violence, Character Death, Substance Use/ Abuse, Adult Language, Book 7 Disregarded, Book 6 Events Slightly Altered  
**A/N:** There was something I didn't mention last chapter. I wanted to thank **Cara Masacra** who helped me get through the beginning of chapter 12 part 1. So I would like to say thank you Cara! :) I also think you'll all really like this chapter tehehe.

* * *

There was a knock at the door.

"Aurelia? Please don't kill me for bothering you up here. Can I come in?" came Pansy's hesitant voice.

Aurelia collected herself and stood up from her bed to walk over to the door. She opened it and stood aside for Pansy to come in.

"Look who's actually alive," Pansy laughed. "You've barely left this room the past few days, so I came to visit."

"I'm sorry," Aurelia sighed. "I've had a lot on my mind."

"That's new," Pansy giggled sarcastically. "Want to tell me about it?"

"No," she stated.

"I know this all might seem hard and I'm sure Draco isn't helping but you can't just lock yourself away from the world like this."

"Pansy, I don't think you understand. I don't want any of this. I do but not really. I want to be important to the Dark Lord but this is a poor way to do it."

"Actually, I think this is the best way to do it. But I know what you mean. You won't be alone in this. Well the pregnant part, yes but not the rest of it. Your father is going to have the baby taken care of," she tried to make Aurelia feel better.

"I don't know, it's just not really looking good for me right now. And Draco…"

"I know," Pansy sighed. No, you don't know, Aurelia thought. "You have to let it go right now. Everything. It's New Year's Eve; we're supposed to be having fun today."

"It's New Year's Eve already? Where have I been the last few days?"

Aurelia didn't blame herself. Ever since she came back from the Malfoys' five days ago, she had been caught inside her own thoughts. She left her attic room only to use the toilet or to shower and she talked to absolutely no one on the way.

"Ha ha, your party is starting soon so I think you need to get ready," Pansy smiled.

Aurelia nodded and followed her down to her own bedroom. There, Aurelia showered and changed into a set of gold-spattered lilac dress robes. She charmed her straightened hair to have sparkling streaks of gold in it. Without adding much extra make up, Aurelia put on lilac eye shadow and clear lip shine.

Pansy looked nearly the same except that instead of lilac, she had aquamarine and instead of gold, she had silver.

Aurelia hadn't spent time with Pansy in a week so it was nice to get ready for the party together. Between the giggles and pillow fights, the two girls nearly lost track of time and were a tad bit late for the party. When they entered the ballroom, the place was filled with Death Eaters and their children. This was the way any party at the Finn Manor was: a bunch of Death Eaters standing around and talking while sipping champagne, occasionally dancing. The kids of said Death Eaters that were friends with Aurelia went to the attic room and got drunk off their arses. It didn't seem like this one would be much different.

"What is he doing here?" Aurelia asked Pansy hastily as she saw Draco in the ballroom.

"Well, his dad was invited," Pansy shrugged.

"Pansy you have to get rid of him. I can't deal with him."

"Look," she started, gripping Aurelia's shoulders tightly. "You're going to have to face him. Whatever happened between the two of you can't possibly have been that bad. And if it was, forget about it. It's New Year's Eve. In a couple of hours it'll be a brand new year with brand new beginnings. As cheesy as that sounds, it's true. There's no better time to start over than tonight.

"That was weird," she shook her head. "You're weird. But I'll try. First, let's just go find Issac."

Pansy agreed and they went off to find their best friend. They found him standing with his mother, looking bored out of his mind. His eyes completely lit up when he saw Pansy and Aurelia.

"Oh my dear Merlin, finally!" he hugged them.

"Get the usual group and meet us upstairs," she whispered to him.

Issac didn't need telling twice. While he went off on his own to find their posse of drinkers, Aurelia led Pansy to the kitchen. There, she took just a short moment rummaging through a cabinet until she found what she was looking for. Aurelia withdrew several bottles of fire whiskey from the cabinet. She handed some to Pansy to hold and took the rest for herself.

"Let's go," Aurelia winked and Dissapparated, Pansy followed.

In Aurelia's attic room sat six people. Issac Roberts, Theodore Nott, Arlette and Clarisse Legrand, Todor Balakov and…Draco Malfoy. Aurelia's heart sank. She decided to ignore him as she sat down with Pansy and passed a whiskey bottle to everyone.

"Aurelia, what are you doing?" Draco asked as Aurelia began opening her bottle.

"What are you talking about?" she raised an eyebrow.

"I don't think you should be drinking that," he motioned to the bottle.

It took Aurelia a few moments to realize what he was talking about.

"Oh, I'm technically not even supposed to know for another two or so months."

"Yeah but you do know," he insisted.

"Well if this was normal, which it obviously isn't, I wouldn't know yet. Therefore, I don't care."

"Aurelia, he's right," Pansy agreed and Aurelia shot her a dirty look.

Aurelia was forced to give up her bottle and watch enviously as everyone else took a swig from theirs. Draco didn't seem to have even touched his. Aurelia stared longingly at her full whiskey bottle. She observed the small ripples that were forming at the top.

"Hold on," Aurelia said cautiously and not a second after she did so, everything began to shake.

"Earthquake!" cried Issac.

Everyone jumped to their feet and ran to safe places around the house. Aurelia simply stood in place.

"Aurelia, what are you doing!" Draco exclaimed. "Come on!"

Aurelia was frozen to the spot, not really taking in what was happening. It was rather difficult to stand as the ground was shaking ferociously. There were cracks forming in the ceiling and the wall. She could hear screams downstairs and people scurrying around looking for their loved ones. For a fleeting moment, Aurelia had a strange image in her mind of the Cornish Pixie incident in her second year Defence class. The faint memory of little pixies causing havoc in the classroom and of Neville Longbottom hanging from the ceiling, looking down on panic-stricken second years evaded her mind. She would have laughed if the seriousness of the current situation hadn't suddenly overcome her.

"Draco?" she called absently, turning to look at him.

She saw him standing halfway between the room and the hallway, his hands tightly griping the door frame. Aurelia still didn't move. Somehow the entire scene before her seemed unreal. Almost as though she were watching a muggle film. She had only just caught a glimpse of one before but was sure that this was what it would feel like. Almost like looking into a Pensieve. That's what this all seemed like, a memory. A memory that was not her own.

Faintly, she heard Draco calling her name. He stood in the doorway, in the safety of the heavy structure that was the room's doorframe. Finally, when Aurelia didn't seem to be moving, he gave up all will for his own safety and bolted across the room to her.

Bare spots decorated the walls where pictures had hung. Those frames were now shattered upon the floor. The whiskey bottles smashed, having fallen from the table, night stand, bed and people's hands as they ran for an impenetrable place to hide. The cracks in the walls became deeper as the ground continued to shake in what seemed to be the Earth's determined quest to bring down all source of human life.

Aurelia was barely aware of the fact that a pare of hands had now grabbed her. Before she could register who they belonged to, she was sucked into darkness. She closed her eyes, thinking that the stranger's memory into which she had plummeted into was ending now. She felt the pressure compress around her as a pair of hands gripped her arms firmly.

When it stopped, Aurelia opened her eyes to see Draco Malfoy standing before her. He looked like he had just climbed out of a battle. There was white debris on his well-tailored dress robes, his hair was dishevelled and his eyes held the frightened sparkle of having lost someone dear to his heart. Or almost lost.

In a sudden rush of breath, Aurelia snapped into reality. She took in her surroundings, which were calm. The little area of the unmistakeable village of Hogsmeade gave her a strange sense of security. Or perhaps that was merely the presence of her escort.

"Draco…" she breathed.

He turned away from her with a final disapproving look and walked down the street.

"Draco!" she called and ran after him.

"What!" he snapped, spinning around. "What! What were you thinking! What was going through head!"

His questions didn't come out as questions but rather scolding shouts. This meant he didn't want an answer. Aurelia couldn't help but give one, though.

"I don't know! I wasn't thinking at all! Everything went all weird and I froze up!"

"Well thank you for making me risk my life to try and fucking save you!"

It hadn't really occurred to Aurelia that he had done that. It's true, he could have either Apparated home right away or stayed somewhere safe in the house, instead he went back for Aurelia and tried to save her.

"Draco I--I hadn't realized…"

He simply shook his head and continued to walk in the direction of the Three Broomsticks. Aurelia wanted to continue her protesting but decided to simply follow him in silence.

"Why Hogsmeade?" she finally asked after they'd taken their seats at a small table.

"First place I thought of," he shrugged.

"Thank you."

He didn't respond to this. Aurelia studied his face. He was angry and Aurelia had no idea why. Sure, what she did was reckless and stupid but she couldn't be blamed for that. She didn't know what happened to her, why she froze up like that. It wasn't her fault and it was his own choice to stay behind and save her, had it not been?

"Draco, talk to me," she pleaded.

Still, there was no reply.

"Draco, can I ask you something?" A grunt from Draco indicated that he was listening. "Why--never mind."

He didn't acknowledge her as he took out his wand and stood from his seat.

"What are you doing?" Aurelia raised an eyebrow.

"Expecto Patronum!" he called and a silver mist shot from his wand. Aurelia strained to see the form of his Patronus but Draco was blocking it from view. "Aurelia's safe. Staying in Hogsmeade. Going back to Hogwarts in the morning."

With this message, Draco's Patronus sped out of sight. He walked to the bar and began talking to the man. After a few minutes Draco turned around, motioned for Aurelia to follow him and went up the stairs. They were led to a small room in the Inn.

"Erm, aren't you going to have your own room?" she asked sceptically, looking at the single bed.

"No. Need to watch you," he said simply.

Aurelia rolled her eyes. She certainly did not need watching. Once she was convinced that Draco was not going to talk to her, Aurelia went into the bathroom. She took a long time just looking in the mirror trying to figure out what was going on. When she came out, she saw that Draco already made up a makeshift bed for himself on the floor. A part of her actually thought that Draco was going to share a bed with her.

"You don't have to sleep on the floor, you know."

Draco shrugged as he began taking off his robes. Aurelia tried not to stare as chills found their way over her skin.

"Wow," she breathed.

"What?" Draco cocked an eyebrow.

"Nothing," she shook her head quickly and lay down in bed after setting her own dress robes on a chair.

Draco flicked his wand and the lights turned off. Aurelia watched his dark figure slowly fall asleep before doing so herself.

When Aurelia awoke in the morning, Draco seemed like he had just done so minutes before. She looked at him as he began walking to the bathroom.

"Malfoy, come here," she said forcefully.

"Why?" he turned around.

"I said come here," she repeated sternly, her eyes flashing with malice.

Draco cautiously sat down on the bed next to her, unsure of what was about to happen.

"I don't get any of this," she said to herself at first.

"What are you talking about?"

"You-are-positively-the-most-," she said, fiercely jabbing his chest with her index finger at every word. "-moody-person-I-have-ever-met."

"Sorry?" he raised an eyebrow, massaging the part of his chest that Aurelia had poked at.

Aurelia stood up and let out a loud frustrated groan. Draco stood up and looked at her oddly.

"Do you find me attractive?" she snapped.

"I--erm--wha--yes?" he said hesitantly.

"Malfoy, don't lie to me!"

"Finn, I think you've lost it," he shook his head.

She did lose it. She had absolutely no idea what she was saying or doing at that moment. A part of her realized this and yelled at her to stop but she told herself that she would look stupid now.

"Answer the damn question, Malfoy!" she insisted.

"Yeah, I do," he replied a little too quickly.

"You're fucking lying to me!"

"No! I'm not, I swear!" he defended.

Aurelia examined him as he said this.

"Kiss me."

"What?" he asked, taken aback.

"I'm not going to repeat myself."

A little hesitant, Draco walked up to her, closing the space between them. Aurelia felt her breath get caught in her lungs as he wrapped his left arm around her waist. He looked deeply into her eyes as his right hand caressed her cheek. Every part of Aurelia's body was tingling from his touch. Then, Draco lowered his lips to hers and the world caught fire.

That's what it felt like to Aurelia. It felt like the entire world had suddenly been thrown up in flames. The heat coming from his lips was more than intense. She didn't want to let him go because she was sure she'd feel cold if she did. Reluctant though he seemed, Draco pulled his lips away from her and questioned her with his eyes.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Draco looked apprehensive but still nodded and left her standing there as he went into the bathroom. Aurelia slumped onto her bed and tried to figure out what had just come over her. It was strange, like nothing that she'd ever experienced before. When she saw him upon waking up, something began to boil up inside of her. It was rage, she decided. She was angry not only with him but with herself as well. Some part of her needed to take control of the situation. His opinion of her seemed to be fluctuating relentlessly. She was having such a difficult time figuring him out.

One moment he could be completely angry with her, the next he would be concerned for her and then angry all over again. It was really eating away at her. Aurelia was also beginning to realize that she had waited so long to finally be able to have Draco and now that he was finally available, she wasn't taking that chance. That was probably the other reason she acted the way she did. It was because she finally realized this.

"Can I ask you something?" Draco asked when came back into the room.

"Anything you like."

"What the bloody hell was that?" he said, referring to Aurelia's sudden outburst a few minutes prior.

"Dunno," she shrugged as though it were no big deal. "No, actually there was sort of a reason for it."

"I'm listening," he said and sat down next to her.

"I'm going to be honest with you," she began.

"That would certainly be nice."

"Shut up and let me finish."

"Sorry."

"The truth of it is," she continued. "I'm really ticked off at you."

"At me?" he gasped, his voice rising in shock.

"Yes, at you. You are so…difficult. And that's putting it lightly, mind you. I just don't know what you're thinking half the time, all the time, really. You're so bloody pissy to--"

"I'm what!"

"--the point where I just want to pull my hair out. One minute you're nearly proposing to me, the next--"

"I did no such thing!"

"--you're angry with me for God knows what. Then, you're worried about me and protecting me and you're angry with again in the blink of an eye! I don't get it!"

"I honestly have no idea what you're talking about," said Draco.

"It's a wonder why I like you, honestly," she shook her head.

"Oh, so you like me now?"

"Now? Before? For ages? Yes," she nodded dismissively.

"Oh."

Aurelia shook her head at herself and stood up from her spot. After brushing off imaginary dust from her shirt, she walked silently into the bathroom. Draco was left sitting on her bed, thinking about what she just told him.

"I have a very interesting question for you," Aurelia said when she came out. "How are we planning on getting our stuff if we're not going back home?"

"They're sending it," he said nonchalantly.

"I see," she nodded. "Alright, I'll see you later."

"Where are you going?" he asked standing up.

"Gladrag's. I'm not going to wear dress robes all day, am I?"

"I'm coming with you," he said quickly and followed her out of the door.

The two of them left the Three Broomsticks and continued left down the High Street of Hogsmeade. The street was crowded with busy shoppers and residents on their morning commute, making it difficult to walk comfortably through the crowd.

At Gladrag's, Aurelia bought two new sets of robes in deep violet and bottle green. Removing her dress robes and placing them into her bag, Aurelia left the shop with Draco wearing her bottle green robes. Draco, himself, was dressed in a new set of black robes.

"We need to get back up to the school," he said right as they passed Honeyduke's.

"What! Why? Christmas Holiday isn't over until tomorrow!" said Aurelia.

"So what do you intend we do? Stay in Hogsmeade?"

"Yes," she nodded.

Draco rolled his eyes and didn't say anything to reply. Aurelia took this to mean that he was agreeing with her. Her mood considerably lighter, she decided to take a chance. Aurelia took Draco's hand in her own. He didn't protest, instead, he interlaced their fingers. Aurelia smiled, her heart beating faster than it should have.

"Where are we going?" Draco asked as Aurelia took a right off of the High Street.

"No idea," she shrugged and kept walking.

The snow was much deeper on that street. It seemed that no one had gone down that way at all since the last snow fall because there were no footprints and the snow was not padded down like it was on the High Street.

As they walked further down the street, the Shrieking Shack came into view. Aurelia smiled. It wasn't her immediate intention to come here but she was glad that she did. As they approached closer, Aurelia took a seat on a large rock half-covered by snow. Draco squatted down on the ground next to her.

"So, I've been thinking," he said quietly, making Aurelia turn her attention to him rather than the old building.

"What have you been thinking about?"

"Actually, never mind," he shook his head.

"Pain in the arse," Aurelia muttered under her breath.

"What?"

"Nothing. Listen," she looked at him. "Go out with me."

"Sorry?"

"Go out with me! I'm honestly sick and tired of this. It's been months since I started liking you. The only reason I never said anything before was because of Cara. Honestly though, I have nothing holding me back anymore. So, go out with me?"

"Yeah, I'd love to," he smiled.

"Oh, fantastic," Aurelia grinned.

With this, Draco stood, picked Aurelia up on her feet and kissed her passionately. The snow seemed to melt and evaporate from the heat. It flowed through Aurelia's entire body and back out again. Regrettably, Draco pulled away but only for a split second.

"Finally," he breathed.

Aurelia rose an eyebrow but didn't have much time to say anything because Draco had his lips on her once again.

Coming back to the Three Broomstick took them a lot longer than it would have under normal circumstances because they kept stopping every few steps to kiss each other. Aurelia couldn't remember the last time she felt so happy. As of that moment it felt like there were no other worries in life. Everything seemed to have fallen into place with her walking down a snowy Hogsmeade street with Draco's arm around her waist.

Just as Aurelia wished, the two stayed in Hogsmeade for the rest of the day. It was spent mostly in the Three Broomsticks as the weather became a little harsh. The wind picked up and it started to snow once again.

That night Draco didn't sleep on the floor. He shared the bed with Aurelia. Though nothing happened, neither of them could have been happier at that moment. The last discouraging thought that managed to invade Aurelia otherwise happy thoughts before she fell asleep was that she would have to go back to school the next day. In retrospect, even that didn't put a damper on her mood.

* * *

**A/N: So there it is. The final chapter of **_**Unexpectedly Acquainted**_**. It's so sad that it's over :( But the point of the story was to get Draco and Aurelia together, right? WRONG. I'm totally kidding guys. Sorry this chapter took so long. I kept getting stuck. On the plus side, I started a new story! It's a journal fic. I got the idea from **_**The Completely Manly Journal of James Potter**_** by **opungo**, right here on fanfiction (you should read it, it's good). I thought a journal fic would be interesting so I started one. I have the first two chapters already written and I'll be posting it up pretty soon. Just as soon as I finish reading **_**The Completely Manly Journal**_**. Mine is going to be another DM/OC fic, as usual. So, if you're at all interested in reading, I would love it if you would.**

**P.S. review por favor :) muchas gracias**


	15. Heavy Snow

**-14-  
**Heavy Snow, Forgetful Feelings and Dangerous Losses

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**Summary:** She barely even knew him. Draco Malfoy was just one of those kids she passed in the halls between classes or asked to borrow a piece of parchment from when she had none. Thanks to the Dark Lord, however, Aurelia Finn and Draco Malfoy will soon find out they have a little more than just age and house in common. And maybe a little bit greater of a task than just "that Charms essay due next period" underway.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except my made up character and plot. J.K Rowling owns all else.  
**Warnings:** Sexual Situations, Violence, Character Death, Substance Use/ Abuse, Adult Language, Book 7 Disregarded, Book 6 Events Slightly Altered  
**A/N:** Very important chapter to move the plot along. Very important. Be sure to read the Author's Note at the end of this chapter!

* * *

As she stepped out into the bright sun, Aurelia had to squint to be able to see properly. The new layers of white snow on the ground reflected the Sun's rays and burned her misadjusted eyes.

"Ready to go?" Draco asked, coming from behind her.

"Not really," Aurelia shook her head jokingly. "Look at all of this snow! I feel like I might get trapped in it."

"Don't worry, I'll be sure to hold you up," he joked. Aurelia couldn't help but smile up at him. "Let's get going."

Aurelia nodded and the two of them began trudging in the snow through Hogsmeade. When the front gates of Hogwarts finally came into view, Aurelia stopped dead in her tracks.

"What's the matter?" Draco asked, turning to her.

"Nothing," she shook her head. "It's nothing."

The truth of it was that she felt as thought something strange were about to happen. It wasn't as though she had a vision or any other form of a prediction. No, it was simply a sinking feel in her stomach. The kind you get when you leave the house and realize that you've left the water running in your kitchen sink. It was similar to that.

As she walked through the double doors into the Entrance Hall, she felt the wash of warmth she often gets when stepping into Hogwarts after a long break. Aurelia sighed and headed across the hall to staircase that led to the dungeons. Draco followed close behind in silence, obviously sensing that something was wrong.

When they got to the Common Room, Aurelia threw herself down on the couch.

"What's bothering you?" Draco asked as he took a seat next to his girlfriend.

"Nothing," she shook her head again. "It's nothing."

"You've already said that," he said. "Now, tell me what's really wrong."

"I just have a bad feeling, that's all," she shrugged.

"About what?"

"I'm not exactly sure. I'm sure it's nothing, though. Don't worry about it."

"I'll be right back," he nodded and kissed her forehead before disappearing into the passageway leading to the Boys' Dormitories.

After less than a minute, he immerged back into the Common Room. Aurelia looked at him with a questioning stare.

"Our stuff has arrived," he stated, seeing her confusion. "I've just checked."

"Oh," was all Aurelia had to say.

"Listen, I never really got a chance to talk to you about this," Draco began hesitantly.

"Talk to me about what?"

"That night," he paused. "At the Riddle House. You-you killed her…didn't you?

Aurelia nodded. She hadn't really thought about it again until now. It finally seemed to hit her, though. She killed someone. She had actually killed another human being. And, as far as she could remember, she liked it.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. Then added, "For you."

"Huh?"

"I only mean…I'm not sorry I killed her. I wanted to. Believe me, I did. I'm not sorry I did it. It felt fantastic, to tell you the truth. I'm just sorry for you because I know she was your girlfriend."

"Ex-girlfriend," he corrected. "Plus, she was a traitor. I would have done the same if she had crossed my path."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. Besides, what do I care? I have you now, don't I?"

Aurelia grinned broadly and kissed him on the lips. Aurelia didn't get just the small butterfly kiss she intended. Instead, she found herself in what seemed to be an endless battle of tongues and searching hands. Grudgingly, she pulled away from Draco after a few minutes.

"I'm going to send an owl home," she gasped breathlessly and Draco nodded.

With one last peck on the lips, Aurelia walked to her Dormitory only to find her truck at the foot of her bed. Smiling to herself, she flung it open and began to search for a quill and parchment. The first letter she wrote was to her father.

Dad,

Thanks for sending my things. Sorry I left; things got hectic. It wasn't my idea to not come back, mind you. I'm sure you'll get over it. Ha, just joking. Draco Malfoy made sure I was alright, though. We stayed at the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade. We were going to go back to school yesterday but I persuaded him to stay longer. We only just got in about 10 minutes ago.

I'm still really sorry I left like that. I'm sure we'll be seeing each other soon. Can't say I've heard anything about Potter, though. So, I can't really help you there. Everything else has been fantastic. It's snowing insanely here. There was somewhat of a storm last night and I have strong feeling it's going to pick up again.

I really miss you. I hope Pansy wasn't too angry I left her at my own house alone. What a wonderful friend I am, eh? Well, I'm sure you have things to do so I'll end this here.

Much love,  
Aurelia

P.S. Did I mention Draco Malfoy and I are dating now?

She read this letter over several times and, deciding it was sufficient, she folded it up into a neat origami square before taking out a clean sheet.

Pansy (and Issac, if you're there),

You'll probably be on the Train by the time you get this. And, even though I'll be seeing you later tonight, this can't wait.

You will never believe what's happened. Well, maybe you will.

On New Year's Eve, during the earthquake, Draco tried to save me. I'm not sure what happened, I kind of froze up. Anyway, he risked his life and came back to save me. Isn't that nice? Well, he ended up Apparating us to Hogsmeade and we stayed in the Three Broomsticks overnight. Then, the next morning we were walking around and well, to cut it short, (I'll give you full details when you get back) I asked him out.

Yes, you heard right. I asked out Draco Malfoy. It was fantastic. So now, I am officially Draco Malfoy's girlfriend. Lovely, eh?

Can't wait 'till you get here. We have loads to talk about.

Ecstatically,  
Aurelia

P.S. Sorry for leaving you back at my place. Hope you weren't too bored.

Aurelia chuckled at the way she signed her message and folded it into an origami square nearly identical to the one that held her father's letter. She labelled each parchment with the appropriate name and tucked them into her pocket.

Draco was not in the Common Room when she passed it so Aurelia guessed he was in his own Dormitory. She smiled at the thought of him and proceeded to the West Tower. It took her a while to get there and she was a little out of breath when she did.

"I want you to deliver the one marked to Pansy first, alright?" she spoke slowly to the gold-coloured owl she had decided on.

When the it gave a positive hoot in reply, Aurelia sent it off. Without waiting to watch it go, she walked the long way back to her Common Room. Draco was still not there so she decided to go check on him. When she walked into his Dormitory, however, she almost wished she hadn't.

"What are you doing!" she gasped.

"Practicing," he shrugged.

"Draco, honestly, have you no sense in you?!"

"Probably not. Want to give it a go?"

"I…," she hesitated for a moment then shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah, alright."

"I think I've put this one through its paces," he said. "Let me get you another one."

For the next ten or so minutes, Aurelia and Draco practiced using Unforgivable Curses on spiders and other magically enlarged insects.

"This is too easy," Aurelia yawned. "I'm so bored, honestly. I'm not going to be able to do it anymore. That's how much I don't want to."

"Well, what do you suggest?" Draco asked, lowering his wand.

"Hm," Aurelia sighed while she thought about it. A very mischievous look came over on her. "Control me."

"Come again?"

"The Imperius Curse. On me. Try to control me, I'll try to resist. It's perfect practice. We'll switch it up later and I'll do it on you."

"You're crazy you know that," he smirked. "Imperio!"

Aurelia suddenly felt very calm as though she didn't have any responsibilities or worries in the world.

"Kiss me," she heard a voice in her mind. She wanted to. Oh, did she want to. However, Aurelia quickly remembered what it was she was supposed to be doing and shook her head, trying to refuse.

"Kiss me," the voice hissed again. Aurelia, once again tried to refuse, successfully.

"I said, KISS ME!" the voice screamed in her mind and Aurelia couldn't take it anymore. Losing all her willpower, she lunged at the blond that was holding his wand pointed at her and let her lips collide with his.

"You are so weak," Draco shook his head as he pulled away.

"Well, that wasn't fair! KISS ME?! You know I would have done that if you asked nicely without the Imperius Curse! You cheated!"

"That wasn't cheating, love. That was smart tact," he smirked.

"Jerk," she spat, just a small glint of a smile playing across her face. "My turn. Imperio!"

Aurelia thought for a moment. She had to make him do something that she knew he couldn't resist. She had to play dirty, just like him.

"Make love to me," Aurelia grinned. She saw Draco start to move towards her but he stopped himself and shook his head. "Make love to me."

"No!" Draco yelled. Aurelia was determined to break him.

"Make love to me!" she screamed. He was better at this than she thought. He held up, though obviously fighting very hard. She was sure he wouldn't hold out much longer.

"Draco, baby, make love to me," she said softly. She had done it. Draco wrapped his arms around her and began to kiss her fiercely. Before he could succeed in taking off Aurelia's robes, she lifted the curse.

"You bitch," he said. "That was cruel and unusual punishment."

"All's fair in love and war, dear," she smirked.

"Alright, I get it. No cheating," he grumbled.

"Exactly. No go on, it's your turn," she nodded.

"Imperio!" Draco yelled and Aurelia felt that calming sensation come back to her. She managed to regain her right mind as she prepared to fight Draco off.

They went at this for another half hour before both grew tired. Panting heavily, Draco collapsed onto his bed.

"I'm done for now," he breathed.

"Sounds good to me," Aurelia nodded.

Once they collected themselves, the couple walked out of the Boys' Dormitory and to the Great Hall for lunch. It was only a handful of kids sitting at the nearly-empty house tables, enjoying their last meal before their classmates would all be back for dinner. Once they were finished eating, Aurelia and Draco went to the Courtyard. There, they spent a good portion of their time doing only things they knew they could do whilst being one of the few students to currently reside in Hogwarts.

It was nearly dinner time when Aurelia and Draco decided to go back to the Common Room to await the arrival of their friends.

"Pansy! Issac!" Aurelia called to the two as she entered the Great Hall, Draco right beside her, holding her hand.

"Aurelia!" Pansy squealed and she ran up to embrace her friend along with Issac.

"So, it's true then, eh?" Issac said, gesturing to Draco's and Aurelia's linked hands. He couldn't help but grin as he looked at the two of them.

"Yes, of course. Why would I lie?" Aurelia laughed.

The group of four took their places at the Slytherin table where they ate their dinner amongst heated conversation.

"Wait, what do you mean you weren't bored at my house?" Aurelia cocked an eyebrow. "What exactly did you do while I wasn't there?"

"Well, let's just say Pansy had some company," Issac chuckled, taking a bite of food into his mouth. Aurelia eyed her black-haired friend, waiting for an answer.

"Well, you know your friend, that was at the party? Todor Balakov?" Pansy began, Aurelia nodded. "We got alone rather well."

"Pansy, you didn't!" Aurelia exclaimed to a blushing Slytherin.

"It was actually quite remarkable. I never saw it coming, personally," Issac interjected and Pansy shoved him playfully.

"Yes, well, I guess now you aren't the only one with a new boyfriend."

"Wait, he asked you out?" Aurelia gaped.

"Well, of course!" Pansy nodded.

"Pansy, you do realize he goes to Durmstrang, don't you?"

"I know," she sighed. "I'll get over it, though. I'll see him again over the Easter Holiday and once I'm done with Hogwarts there won't be anything else holding us back."

"If you're sure," Aurelia shrugged.

"He's really nice," she said almost as though she were defending her attraction to him.

"I know."

Aurelia was slightly smiling to herself at the thought of Pansy and Todor together. It seemed nice in her mind. While contemplating all of this, she began absently playing with the chain on her neck.

"Where's my charm?" Aurelia gasped as she noticed the necklace was just a bare strand of gold.

"Haha, come again?" Draco laughed.

"My necklace charm, Draco! Honestly…"

"Oh, right. Sorry," he choked back. "What necklace charm?"

"The one from my necklace," she replied coldly. "I think I've lost it."

"Don't worry, I'm sure it'll turn up," he smiled. Aurelia, however was not sure.

She had never before taken it off. She was given the necklace at birth and (though the charm itself went through several gold and silver chains) she had never really taken it off. It was hers. The one and only thing that truly defined her and kept a link between her and her life at home. And it was gone.

"Reli, are you alright?" Draco asked in a concerned tone. Aurelia simply nodded, suppressing the feelings building up inside of her.

She forced herself to tear her mind away from the charm for the rest of dinner. Back at the Common Room, she decided to retire to bed early, weary from the day's events. After a goodnight kiss to Draco, Aurelia went into the Dormitory and got herself ready for bed.

It didn't take long for Aurelia to fall asleep. After having walked through the snow from Hogsmeade, endured several attempts of blocking out the Imperius Curse and having a rather animated dinner with her friends, Aurelia was exhausted.

"Do you have any empty rooms tonight, Rosmerta?" a man with a long cloak asked the bartender of the Three Broomsticks.

"I'm not sure, you'd have to ask Bill, he takes care of that stuff," she pointed to a heavy-set man sitting behind the bar. The man and his companion nodded a thanks to the charming lady and walked to the one she called Bill.

"Bill?" the second man asked. Bill snapped his attention to him.

"Yeah?" he grunted sleepily.

"Do you have a room?" the first man asked.

"Yeah, just one though. Two teenagers just left it this morning," he grunted. "Follow me."

Without another word, the two men followed Bill up the stairs and were lead into a room with one single bed.

"Sorry about the bed situation, only room we got left," Bill shrugged and retreated, closing the door behind him. With an irritated flick of his wand, the first man conjured up a small make-shift bed next to the original one.

"Right. Well, I'm off to sleep. I've had a tiring day," the second man yawned and climbed into the bed that belonged to the room. "Bloody hell!"

"What's the matter, Remus?" the first man asked, setting his black cloak aside, revealing a wooden leg.

"Sat on something," Remus replied. "Oi, Alastor, take a look at this."

"What is it?" Alastor asked curiously approaching Remus; His magical blue eye whizzing in his socket, looking around the room and his normal one fixated on the small golden object in his collegue's hand.

"Do you know what this is?" Remus asked excitedly. Alastor took the object from him and examined it closely with both eyes. It was a very small star, as though the charm to a necklace or bracelet. Although, there was something different about this star. It had only four corners. A peculiar shape. And yet, it was familiar to the men now examining it.

"Do you reckon it was those teenagers that Bill mentioned?" Alastor finally asked, handing the delicate object back to the scarred man in front of him.

"Yeah," Remus nodded. "Now all we have to do is find out who it was that was here."

"Finally," Alastor growled. "We're getting somewhere."

* * *

**A/N: It was a short chapter, I know. Sorry about that. However! The four-cornered star made an appearance again. You thought I forgot about it, didn't you? Oh no, I most certainly did not. If you fail to remember it in the first place, I suggest you go re-read chapter 3.**

**Well, that was my update for Unexpectedly Acquainted. I'm going to go post my other story that I mentioned in the last chapter as soon as I can come up with a title.**

**Once again, it's a DM/OC Journal Fic. Rather interesting to write. I hope it will be equally interesting to read. I would really love it if all my faithful Unexpectedly Acquainted readers would look into that story when it comes out. It would be much appreciated.**

**As always, reviews are fantastic. And I feel rather reluctant to post new chapters until I get some, if you catch my drift.  
**

**Please and thank you :)**


	16. Dangerous Losses

**-14-  
**Dangerous Losses, Lovely Nights and Untold Secrets

* * *

**Summary:** She barely even knew him. Draco Malfoy was just one of those kids she passed in the halls between classes or asked to borrow a piece of parchment from when she had none. Thanks to the Dark Lord, however, Aurelia Finn and Draco Malfoy will soon find out they have a little more than just age and house in common. And maybe a little bit greater of a task than just "that Charms essay due next period" underway.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except my made up character and plot. J.K Rowling owns all else.  
**Warnings:** Sexual Situations, Violence, Character Death, Substance Use/ Abuse, Adult Language, Book 7 Disregarded, Book 6 Events Slightly Altered  
**VERY IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE:  
****1. **First thing I would like you all to know is that this story is going to be 24 chapters long. No more, no less.  
**2. **I am making it my sworn duty to have a new chapter out every two days from now on. Meaning these are the dates that the chapters will be out... 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27 of August. The only reason I'm doing this is because I want to get this story done this month because there is no way in hell I'm going to have time once school starts. So, you'll know exactly when to look for new chapters. Sound good? Don't worry, this won't be too difficult to do as I have a very detailed outline done of this story.  
**3.** I am going to be taking a few stabs at my literary freedom in the remainder of this story. First of all, the Battle of Hogwarts will not be the second of May like it is in the book. Sorry. However, this is a "Book 7 Disregarded" story so that's not really bad. The other things I will be taking into my own hands are: final exams, OWLs and NEWTs will not be the first week of June and school will not let out the third week of June. Sorry. I completely overlooked this fact when planning the story and changing it now (although quite possible) will take a very long time and might make confusing time lapses in my story where the characters do absolutely nothing. So, I will just leave it as is. I'm sure you'll all survive just fine.  
**4.** My Journal Fic (still untitiled) will be published only after I've finished this story. If you read it (and I would love it if you did), updates will not come as fast as this story. It's summer and I've had more than enough time on my hands because I'm on vacation at my grandma's farm so I've been getting new chapters out every few days. However, I will be attending school while writing my journal fic so it will definitely be harder to find the time to write frequently. Don't let this stop you from reading though as I'm sure I'm one of the few authors on here that update so quickly anyway.  
**5. **As I have mentioned above, I have quite a lot of time on my hands. I am a beta reader! So, please! Give me stories to beta! I would love you so much if you did :)  
**6.** That's all I have to say! Enjoy the story and please, for the love of Merlin, review it :D

* * *

The next few days seemed to confuse Aurelia. Each morning she would wake up from what she knew was not a dreamless sleep. However, she could never remember the dreams though she knew she had them. Then, afterwards, she would spend the rest of the day feeling as though something was going wrong. Terribly wrong. She could never figure it out. At first, she thought that maybe it was the pregnancy but realized that it was too early to be having symptoms of any sort.

"Oh, the post is here," Pansy observed over breakfast Monday morning. Sure enough, when Aurelia looked up, she saw dozens of owls flying into the Great Hall, dropping packages off to the students.

"Finally," Aurelia sighed when a golden owl dropped a parcel with a letter attached to it in front of Aurelia. "I thought he'd never reply. Oh, and look, Daddy's sent me sweets."

"Shocker," Pansy laughed sarcastically and Aurelia pushed her shoulder before unfolding the parchment.

_Aurelia,_

_Glad to hear you're alright. That earthquake was a nasty one. Everything is fine here, though. Tawny has been working extra hard this weekend to fix up the house and it's basically back to normal._

_Before I forget, I'm going to be writing to your Headmistress for you to come home early for Easter Holiday. Your cousin Violet and that bloke she met in France are getting married a week earlier than planned so you'll need to be here for rehearsal dinner and so forth. Can't wait to see you then.__And congratulations! Draco Malfoy seemed like a fine young man. Be sure to tell me if he's mistreating you._

_Well, time for me to get back to work. See you soon._

_Love,  
Dad_

"Your cousin Violet and that bloke she met in France are getting married a week earlier than planned," she repeated the sentence out loud. "What is he talking about? I don't _have_ a cousin Violet."

"I think I know," Pansy said shortly as she spread out the front page of the _Daily Prophet_.

**Dark Wizards In Hogsmeade  
**_Late on Friday night, two members of the, well-known, Order of the Phoenix stayed in  
the Three Broomsticks Inn in the village of Hogsmeade. The men found a rather curious  
artifact left in the room they were staying in. A small charm in the shape of a four-  
cornered star was discovered by the two. Believed to be the symbol of Dark Witches or  
Wizards unknown, the trinket was carelessly left behind by what officials believe to be  
two teenagers that inhabited the small lodging earlier that very same day.  
The Ministry of Magic has been looking for the travellers all weekend with little luck._

Aurelia didn't need to keep reading. She realized that the Ministry was probably intercepting owls and that was why her father's letter made no immediate sense.

"I am so dead," Aurelia sighed.

"What are you talking about?" Draco asked, setting his fork down.

"This! It's my charm that they found!" Aurelia whispered as she jabbed the _Prophet _with her finger.

"Wait, I don't get it. This says it is 'believed to be the symbol of Dark Witches or Wizards unknown' but it was just a necklace charm."

"Wrong," she shook her head. "I was given that necklace at birth. It's my family symbol. I can't believe they know about it. WHO! Who made that public? How did they find out about the star?! We don't go parading our symbol around!"

"Aurelia, lower your voice," Issac warned.

"I am so dead," she sighed again.

"Don't worry about it. They'll probably forget about the whole thing once they realize the search isn't going anywhere," Issac assured her, opening his own letter.

"I suppose you're right," Aurelia shrugged. "Who's that from Issac?"

"My mum," he said.

"How come you never get letters from your dad?" Pansy asked.

"He doesn't speak to him. Never has. Doesn't like to talk about it," Aurelia interjected and Issac just nodded.

"What's his name? Maybe I know him. I know all the pureblood families in Britain, basically," Draco said.

"Doesn't matter," he mumbled quickly. They let the subject drop, seeing that Issac was uncomfortable with it and continued their breakfast.

The rest of the day was quite uncomfortable for Aurelia. She wasn't sure what was happening outside the walls of Hogwarts and was positive that whatever it was, wasn't good. She wondered how she would wiggle her way out if they discovered it was her charm they found. There wouldn't be much she could do about it. All it would take would be for them see her Dark Mark and she would be in Azkaban along with her father.

"Are you feeling alright?" Draco asked as they sat curled up in the Common Room late at night, after everyone had gone to sleep.

"Not in the least," she bit her lip. "I'm so afraid of what might happen if they find out it was my necklace charm."

"Aurelia, they won't find out it was you, I promise."

"How can you be so sure?" Aurelia sighed but Draco didn't answer, instead, he kissed her gently on the forehead. "I'm sorry I'm like this."

"Like what?"

"Distressed and well, frankly, boring," she replied.

"You are not boring," he defended. "I understand that what's going on isn't exactly the most convenient for you at the moment. To put it lightly."

Aurelia sighed and nodded saying, "Thanks for being here for me."

"Anytime, love," he smiled as he kissed her gently on the lips. Aurelia responded to this kiss by entangling her hands in his hair and running her fingers through the soft strands of blond.

"Maybe we should go to bed, it's getting a bit late," Aurelia said unwillingly.

"I suppose you're right," Draco nodded. With one final, lustful kiss, the two departed to their own Dormitories for a much needed rest after the first day of classes back from Christmas Holiday.

The rest of the week brought brutally cold weather. The grounds remained still and uninhabited except for students walking down to their Care of Magical Creatures or Herbology classes during which time they huddled close together and wore several layers of clothing. These two classes in particular suffered a great loss in attendance merely because most people didn't want to freeze their knickers off. Places such as Common Rooms and the Library were constantly filled with students when classes were not in session, making it more than impossible to get any privacy.

"I don't think it's that cold," Pansy shrugged as they sat in the Common Room after dinner Sunday night. "I mean, it could be worse. We could be going to Durmstrang."

"You only wish, Pansy," Aurelia laughed at her more-than-obvious ulterior motive.

"Did you read the Prophet this morning, Aurelia?" Issac changed the subject once he saw the sour expression on Pansy's face.

"No, should I have?"

"They called off the search," he stated.

"They did not!" Aurelia exclaimed. "Why?"

"Apparently, they were 'misled'," he shrugged and Aurelia looked completely puzzled.

"Oh," Draco sighed to himself then turned to Aurelia. "Come with me."

"Pardon?" she cocked an eyebrow but Draco ignored it as he stood from the couch and started dragging her out of the Common Room.

"Draco, where are you taking me," she said (not asked), pulling her hand out of his grasp when they reached the Marble Staircase.

"To a place that just last year, I almost could have called home," he stated much too vaguely. Aurelia couldn't keep asking questions as Draco had continued to drag her up the stairs. She was nearly out of breath when he finally turned onto the seventh floor.

"What are you doing?" Aurelia asked as Draco began to walk back and forth in front of an old tapestry. Her question was quickly answered when a wooden door appeared.

"After you, m'lady," he bowed and Aurelia opened the wooden door to reveal a dark passageway.

"Mind telling me where this leads?" she asked and Draco shrugged before forcing her inside. Draco closed the door behind them and took out his wand.

"_Lumos_," he muttered. It took them quite a while but they finally made it to the other side. When Draco pushed the door open, they stepped into a place that was unmistakable to be Gladrags in Hogsmeade.

"Draco what are we--oh, Merlin!" Aurelia gasped when her eyes fell upon a small stand in the middle of the shop containing a hundred identical necklaces.

"Like it?" Draco smirked as she examined each one in awe.

"My-my star! How did this get here?"

"I had my father pull a few strings," he shrugged as though it were no big deal.

"Your father just escaped from Azkaban this summer," she looked at him. "How did he do that? Isn't he in slight exile?"

"Not really," he shook his head. "Well, maybe just a little. Plus, he has people.

"Draco, you're fantastic!" she exclaimed and threw her arms around his neck before kissing him strongly on the lips.

"I'm glad you like it," he smiled. "Would you like one? Since you've lost your original."

"Erm, no. That's alright," she shook her head, knowing that it would in no way be the same.

"I understand," he nodded although Aurelia could guarantee with her life that he didn't understand at all. The two took the passageway back to the castle (after many stares from the shopkeeper) and walked back to the Slytherin Common Room.

"Where did you guys go?" Issac asked when they had gotten back.

"No where in particular," she grinned.

"Right," Pansy nodded with a wink. "Well, I'm going to bed."

"So early?" Draco asked.

"Yeah, I'm pretty tired," she nodded.

"Night, Pansy."

"I'm gonna go to the library," Issac said suddenly, when Pansy had left.

"Isn't it a bit late for the library? I think it's already closed," Aurelia commented.

"Later, guys!" he said, ignoring her question.

"I swear," she shook her head as Issac sprinted out of the Common Room. "Sometimes I feel like I'm talking to myself."

"Well, now we're all alone," Draco said seductively.

"Sure we are," Aurelia nodded then motioned over his shoulder. "Except for the rest of the Slytherins in the Common Room."

"Oh, I hadn't noticed them," he said sounding truly bewildered.

"Draco, you are something else," Aurelia shook her head with a grin. Without much warning she found herself being pulled to her feet and dragged down the passageway to the Boys' Dormitories.

"Out," Draco said plainly to Blaise Zabini who had been sitting comfortably at his own four-poster. He didn't protest, instead, quickly jumped to his feet and winked at Aurelia before leaving the Dorm.

"That wasn't very nice," said Aurelia but her comment went unheard as Draco grabbed her by the waist and lifted her off the ground.

"How about I show exactly why you chose to go out with me," he smirked as he kissed her on the lips.

"You mean it wasn't because of your boyish good looks?" Aurelia chuckled.

"Well, those, too."

"Don't you think you should lock the door?" Aurelia asked when Draco set her down on his bed.

"If I know Blaise, no one will be coming up here," he said referring to Blaise probably telling the whole Common Room what they were doing.

"Are we talking about the same Blaise Zabini?" Aurelia raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, you're right," he nodded and pointed his wand at the door. "_Muffliato. Colloportus._ Better?"

"Much," she smirked and pressed her lips to his.

Draco brushed his tongue against her bottom lip, asking for entrance and she gladly permitted it. Draco deepened the kiss by putting his right hand on the back of Aurelia's head and his left hand on her waist. He pulled her to him and closed what little space was left between them. Draco began leaning forward, pushing Aurelia to lay down on the bed which was exactly what she did. Soon, the heat of the moment over took both of them. The warming sensation Aurelia always got when kissing Draco returned and captured every inch of her body. Without wasting a single second of being in each others' arms, clothes were discarded one by one. Aurelia was the first to let a moan escape her lips as Draco kissed her neck in just the right spot.

"Draco," she whimpered his name, making him smirk against her skin.

Every feeling was numbed, every thought extinguished and every sense intensified as the tension between them grew. Draco began slowly trailing kisses down her entire body, sending ferocious tingles up her spine that threatened to pierce her, rendering her motionless. She ran her hands through his silky blond hair, feeling the smooth strands tickle her fingers.

"Draco," she whimpered once more just before their lips crashed in a desperate longing to never be separated.

As their hands roamed one another's bodies and their tongues battled for dominance, the two found themselves completely nude against each other. Aurelia felt her world spin out of control as Draco made her his own. Their movements were perfectly in sync . The only thing breaking the heated silence around them was the gentle thumping of the bed's backboard against the wall and the lustful moans releasing themselves from their throats. Finally, with one final, fierce movement, a loud cry echoed around the room that, if not for the charm on the door, would have sounded through the entire Common Room below.

"That was wonderful," Aurelia gasped as Draco collapsed onto her.

"It was," he agreed, equally as breathless and rolled off of the limp beauty underneath him. Covering themselves in a light blanket, the two lovers fell into a deep slumber.

Aurelia was awakened by a loud banging. She opened her eyes to see Draco next to her with his face scrunched up in annoyance.

"Oi! Malfoy! I've let you have your fun! Open up! We wanna get to bed!" came the voice of Blaise Zabini on the other side of the Dormitory door. Draco let out a groan as he continued to bang his fists on the wood.

"Bloody hell," he mumbled to himself and turned away from Aurelia. She almost shivered as his hands left her waist and began searching on the ground for his wand. He pointed his wand at the door, muttered the counter-charm to open it and turned back around to embrace Aurelia into his arms.

"Sorry," he whispered when he saw that she was awake. "He's a git."

"Yes, he is," she giggled lightly.

"Go back to sleep," he whispered and placed a soft kiss on her lips. She did just this and didn't wake again until morning.

"So, Aurelia, where did you disappear to last night?" Pansy giggled over breakfast, knowing full well where she was.

"Well, if you must know," Aurelia smirked. "Draco locked me up in his Dormitory and did extremely naughty things to me that made me squeal like a seeding mandrake."

"That's gross!" she exclaimed, not having expected a straight answer.

"You asked," she shrugged and laughed along with Issac and Draco.

After breakfast, the group left the Great Hall with the rest of the student body on their way to class. As she was headed towards the dungeons for her Advanced Potions class, Aurelia was pulled aside by Issac.

"We'll meet you there," he nodded to Draco and Pansy.

"Issac, what's wrong?" Aurelia asked as she looked around the empty Entrance Hall. She figured they had about one minute to get to class.

"I have to tell you something," he sighed. "You know I never like to talk about my father? Well--"

"Shouldn't you two be in class?" Professor McGonagall said from behind them with a stern look on her face.

"Yes, Headmistress," Issac nodded.

"Get going then," she huffed and watched Issac and Aurelia hurry across the hall and into the dungeons. Issac didn't continue to tell Aurelia what he was on the verge of saying before they were _so rudely_ interrupted by McGonagall.

Aurelia couldn't help but wonder if it was of extreme importance. She and Issac never kept secrets from one another, they promised each other that. The only thing that Issac had never talked about was his father. He says he's never met the man and talking about it just makes him feel angry. Aurelia, in all their seven years of friendship, never brought it up after she'd been told this on the train in first year. That was the first time the two had met. Aurelia had just sat into an empty compartment when a very disgruntled-looking boy came in and asked for a seat.

_"I'm Issac," he said, thrusting out his hand for Aurelia to shake. She did so with a small giggle._

_"Aurelia," she smiled._

_"Are you a first year?" he asked rather boldly._

_"I am," she nodded. "You?"_

_"Yeah," he grinned. "Know what house you'll be in?"_

_"Slytherin," she stated proudly. "Without a doubt. It's the best house in Hogwarts. All my family were in it."_

_"That's awesome," he said in awe. "I'm hoping to be in Slytherin, too!"_

_"Wicked," she said very loudly. "My mum and dad and pure-bloods. So is my entire family! Finn. That's me. Aurelia Leandra Finn. Leandra is my mum's name. I don't like her very much. My daddy is Dillard Finn. He's fantastic."_

_"Finn?" Issac asked. "Hey, I've heard of you! My mum knows your dad. She's Kendra Roberts."_

_"Yeah, she's been to my house a few time," Aurelia nodded, remembering. "What's your dad's name? I've told you mine."_

_"I don't know my dad," he said quickly, a hurt expression falling across his face. "I never did. I don't really like to talk about it."_

_"I'm sorry...would you like a Chocolate Frog?"_

_"Yeah! I'd love one," he smiled and took the little box from Aurelia._

_"Oh bugger, another Dumbledore," he sighed as he looked at his famous wizard card. "I've got so many of him, I've taken to laying them in my owl's cage."_

_Aurelia laughed heartily at his joke and the two children's merry laughter was heard all the way down the hall of the rattling Hogwarts Express Steam Engine._

Aurelia smiled to herself as she recalled this memory. It was one of her best. Still, through all the years she's known him, a little curiosity always crept up on her when her thoughts crossed over Issac's father. Aurelia realized that she was being poked in the arm by Draco.

"Aurelia," he whispered. "You're staring off into the distance."

"Oh," she chuckled and looked up at Slughorn to pay attention to the rest of the lesson.

* * *

**A/N: Well, there it is! I'm sure you're all wondering about several things. All in good time, my friends. So, I will see you again on the 11th! (Which is Ginny Weasley's birthday, by the way) I would love it if you all reviewed in the meantime! :)**


	17. Untold Secrets

**-16-  
**Untold Secrets, Speeding Days and Heated Arguments

* * *

**Summary:** She barely even knew him. Draco Malfoy was just one of those kids she passed in the halls between classes or asked to borrow a piece of parchment from when she had none. Thanks to the Dark Lord, however, Aurelia Finn and Draco Malfoy will soon find out they have a little more than just age and house in common. And maybe a little bit greater of a task than just "that Charms essay due next period" underway.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except my made up character and plot. J.K Rowling owns all else.  
**Warnings:** Sexual Situations, Violence, Character Death, Substance Use/ Abuse, Adult Language, Book 7 Disregarded, Book 6 Events Slightly Altered  
**A/N: **HAPPY BIRTHDAY GINNY WEASLEY!

* * *

Issac never once brought up his father for the rest of the day. Tuesday morning at breakfast, she was able to sense that something was wrong with him. When Issac finally caught her staring at him with puzzled eyes, he asked if he could see her out in the Entrance Hall. Aurelia and Issac both excused themselves from their friends and left the Great Hall.

"Listen, Aurelia," he began. "This isn't very easy for me to say."

"Don't worry, I'm listening."

"Well, it's just that…that only reason I have always kept this a secret from you is because I wasn't sure you'd understand--"

"Finn!" someone called and Aurelia turned around to see Daphne Greengrass sprinting towards her.

"Yeah?"

"Listen, I was wondering if you could do me a favour?" she said once she was directly in front of her. "I'm skiving off of Potions today and was wondering if you could cover for me."

"Why?"

"Well, my sister and I--"

"Say no more," Aurelia laughed. "I'll take care of it. Have fun."

"Thanks Aurelia, I owe you," she sighed and went back down to the dungeons.

"Sorry, Issac, what were you saying?" she asked.

"Never mind," he mumbled and before Aurelia could press the matter, students began flooding out of the Great Hall. Aurelia and Issac were soon joined by Pansy and Draco. The four of them went to the dungeons for potions where Aurelia had to make up a clever excuse about the flu for Daphne.

The rest of the day went by quite smoothly. Every class seemed to just swim by in seconds. Maybe it was because Aurelia was so unfocused and caught up in her own thoughts the whole time. They weren't thoughts about anything extremely important in particular. They were mostly daydreams about the handsome blond that occupied the seat directly next to her in nearly every class. Aurelia felt so euphoric about her relationship with Draco. It was better now than she could have ever dreamed possible. The previous night was spent in Draco's dormitory once more, to the slight annoyance of his roommates. Nevertheless, it was wonderful in every way.

That evening after dinner, the four friends returned to the Common Room and took their place on the couches near the fire (after having forced a group of second years away). Aurelia laid down on the sofa with her head in Draco's lap while Issac and Pansy each occupied an arm chair on either side of them.

"Did it seem like today was fast to anyone?" Aurelia mused as Draco played with her hair.

"A bit," Pansy shrugged. "I'm not complaining. I hate class."

"I suppose," she shrugged then sat up in thought. "This is our last year, though. Wouldn't you want it to last longer?"

"Would you?" Draco asked in question.

"I'm not sure. I mean, I really want to get out of here and get on with my life but at the same time this is almost like home. We certainly do spend more time here than in our real homes, right? I just know I'm going to miss this place. The teachers may be a right pain in the arse, there might be mudbloods and half-bloods running around all over the place, the rules may be overly frustrating and the school work is rather boring to put up with but it's Hogwarts."

"I guess you're right," Draco sighed as they all took in Aurelia's words.

"Way to depress us all, Aurelia," Issac joked and Aurelia stuck her tongue out at him. As she did this, her eyes fell upon a sprawled copy of that morning's _Daily Prophet_ on the table. She picked it up when she the saw the headline of the front page article.

**Disorder With The Order  
**_Saturday night, the Order of the Phoenix had an unpleasant run-in  
with a few of You-Know-Who's followers. Witnesses say that the  
numbers must have been thirty to ten with the higher favouring  
the dark side. Order members have refused to give comment about  
the night's events though several eye witnesses claimed to have  
a full memory of the goings-on. This "battle" took place in a small  
area near the Ministry of Magic. After several memory modification  
charms were set upon muggles, these so-called "eye witnesses"  
were talked to. The most they were able to infer was that a group  
of nearly thirty Death Eaters sprung an attack on a group of witches  
and wizards. The aforementioned wizards were indeed members  
of the Order of the Phoenix that had been at post, guarding the Ministry  
of Magic's visitor entrance. Witnesses say the battle lasted no  
more than perhaps ten minutes. It all resulted in two casualties though  
the identities of said persons have not been released._

"What is this!" Aurelia exclaimed, waving the _Prophet_ around in her hand. "This! What rubbish is this? This can't be--I don't believe--did this really--OH, I AM SO ANGRY!"

"Aurelia, relax," Draco said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't touch me," she snapped and Draco retreated his hand. "Tell me you didn't know about this!"

"I didn't!" he said rather quickly. When Aurelia looked at him as though he were lying he added, "I swear!"

"You!" she pointed to Pansy. "Did you know about this?"

"No, I-I hadn't read the paper this morning," she lied.

"THIS IS SUCH RUBBISH!" she shouted and stood up angrily from her seat.

"Aurelia, where are you going?" Draco called after her as she made her way out of the Common Room.

"Aurelia!" Pansy called.

"Oh, I better go after her," Draco sighed when Aurelia left, ignoring them.

"Bloody hell," she muttered under her breath as she made her way out of the dungeons and up the Marble Staircase, unaware that she was silently being followed by her boyfriend. "Don't even bother--Great, am I?--Can't even tell me--As if I didn't want--Who do they think they are?"

She continued to mumbled incoherently until she reached the seventh floor. She began to walk back and forth in front of the same tapestry Draco had walked past the previous day. On the third time, a door formed and Aurelia threw it open angrily. She began to walk fiercely along the passageway with her wand lit in front of her. Once at the other end, she pushed the door open and stormed through the shop--ignoring the demanding questions from the shopkeeper--and stepped into the coolly lit street of Hogsmeade. Aurelia continued to walk in a huff down the road until she turned unto the side-street of the Shrieking Shack. Angrily, she pulled back the sleeves of her robes and touched her Dark Mark with her wand, concentrating hard on her father's name. In a moment, Dillard Finn appeared in front of Aurelia with a loud _crack._ Realizing where he was, he hastily removed his mask and gaped at his daughter.

"Aurelia!" he exclaimed. "What in Merlin's name are you doing?"

"WHAT-THE-HELL!" she yelled, not hesitating. All the anger she had back in the Common Room had time to simmer and triple by the time she got to where she was.

"Reli, what's the matter?" he father asked in a concerned tone.

"WHAT'S THE MATTER?! THIS IS THE MATTER!" she screamed and pulled the copy of the _Daily Prophet_ out from underneath her robes. "WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS THIS SUPPOSED TO MEAN!?"

"Reli, I don't understand why you're ups--" he was cut off by an angry groan from Aurelia.

"YOU PROMISED ME, FATHER! YOU PROMISED ME THAT NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, I WILL BE INCLUDED! YOU PROMISED ME THAT WHEN I JOINED I WOULD BE JUST AS VALUED AS YOU AND THE REST OF HIS MEN! YET, A THING LIKE THIS COMES ALONG AND I HAVE TO FIND OUT ABOUT IT TWO DAYS LATER FROM THE BLOODY _PROPHET?!"_

"This is it? You're upset you didn't get to join in the fight?! Are you out of your mind?!" he said back, his voice slightly rising but not yelling the way Aurelia was.

"YES, I'M BLOODY WELL UPSET I DIDN'T GET TO JOIN IN THE FIGHT BECAUSE I WAS UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT I WAS JUST AS VALUED A SERVANT AS THE REST OF YOU! I WAS UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT THESE WERE EXACTLY THE KIND OF THINGS THAT I WOULD BE INCLUDED IN! IF NOT, YOU COULD HAVE AT LEAST HAD THE DECENCY TO TELL ME ABOUT IT!" she screamed, completely losing control. "I KNOW YOU WERE THERE, FATHER! I KNOW YOU WERE! I BET SO WAS LUCIUS AND BELLATRIX AND AVERY AND EVERY OTHER BLOODY ONE OF YOU! I SAW THE NUMBERS! THIRTY! THAT'S RUDDY WELL ALL OF HIS CLOSEST AND THEN A FEW! SO TELL ME WHY I WAS NOT THERE, FATHER!"

"BECAUSE IT WAS ALL YOUR FAULT IN THE FIRST PLACE!" he screamed suddenly and gasped at his own words.

"W-what?" Aurelia stammered.

"You heard me," he said almost coldly. "It was you fault that you lost the ruddy star in the Three Broomsticks in the first place! If you hadn't, there wouldn't have been need for any brawl! It was your carelessness that landed us in that situation to begin with, Aurelia! Your bloody _carelessness!"_

"That was not my fault! Nor my carelessness! I have no idea how that charm ended up in the Three Broomsticks! It's centuries old, who knows, maybe it broke off! I didn't take it off, you know I never do! It wasn't my fault that it happened! It also is most definitely not my fault that people like the Order and the Ministry know about the star in the first place, either!" she rebutted.

"Right," he said, looking a little ashamed. "I suppose maybe that was a bit of carelessness on my own part…"

"Carelessness on your part?" Aurelia asked slowly. "YOU?! You're the one that exposed our family symbol?! I CAN NOT BELIEVE YOU! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU HAVE DONE, FATHER?! DO YOU REALIZE WHAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED?! THEN YOU CALL _ME_ CARELESS!"

"It was a complete accide--"

"You-you-," she sputtered angrily. Then, the rage seemed to boil up inside of her like a cauldron that's been sitting under a fire for hours. "I BEAT MYSELF OVER THE HEAD FOR IT ALL WEEK! I THOUGHT THAT IT WOULD BE MY FAULT IF I GOT YOU SENT TO AZKABAN AND ALL THIS TIME IT WAS _YOUR FAULT_!"

Before Dillard managed to realize just how angry he had really made his daughter, Aurelia drew he wand. Draco, who had been hiding around the corner, listening to the argument, immediately stepped out.

"IT WOULD HAVE BEEN ALL YOUR FAULT! AND WHAT'S WORSE IS YOU NEVER TOLD ME! I TRUSTED YOU TO TELL ME _EVERYTHING_, FATHER!" she yelled, her wand shaking in her unsteady hand.

"Aurelia, stop," Draco intervened, lowering Aurelia's hand. "Think about what you're doing."

"DO-NOT-TOUCH-ME-MALFOY!" she spat and turned back to her father with a menacing glare. "I can't forgive you for this."

With these last words, she took off in the direction she had originally come from and took the passage back to Hogwarts, ignoring everything on her way back to her Common Room. When she got there, the place was deserted. It seemed that she had been gone for quite a while and everyone was in bed already. She kicked the sofa angrily just as Draco came sprinting into the Common Room.

"Aurelia," he said, breathless. "What has gotten into you?"

"You don't get it, Malfoy!" she rounded on him. "You don't get what is going on around here right now! I am closed up inside these blasted walls. All it would take would be for them to ask for me! Just ask and I would be there in a heartbeat! I was told that when I joined I would be just as valued as everyone else! I was told that I would be the next one if the worst should happen, that I would be the one to take over! In the meantime, I was supposed to do everything for him and be valued above all the other common ones! I was to be in his top ranks and be among the first people he turned to! Now, I'm finding out that I can't even be told about a stupid little spat between a few Order members?! IT ISN'T WHAT I SIGNED UP FOR! I DIDN'T SIGN UP TO SIT IN THE SIDELINES!" At this point, Aurelia's angry shouts were replaced by dry sobs of hysteria. "I don't want this anymore!"

"Aurelia," Draco said softly as he pulled her into his arms. "It'll be OK."

"No," she shook her head against him. "No, it won't. Do you see what I'm doing to myself? I'm letting myself be lowered to all of this. I did _everything_ for that man. I put my life in danger for him, I swore myself to him, I'm doing the one thing that will ensure a future for our side. Just-for-him! I don't want to handle a child and the throne. I don't want to! But I'm doing it _for him_! It isn't fair this way."

There were no tears coming from Aurelia's eyes. Her voice was solemn and almost monotone. She was trying so hard to remember herself but being in Draco's arms was making it extremely difficult. He felt so good against her. She felt safe and protected. She wanted to cry onto his shoulder and have him kiss her gently and tell her it would be alright. She knew better. She knew better than to cry in front of him. It isn't who she was supposed to be. It wasn't how she was supposed to act.

"Aurelia," he began. "There's no way I can possibly understand how you feel because I'm not going through what you're going through right now. The one thing that I can tell you is that I will _always_ be here for you. No matter what, you can come to me and I will be here. I will help you through all of this, I promise."

"I know," she nodded. "I know you will."

Aurelia took in a deep breath. She let Draco hold her a few minutes longer. They didn't speak anymore. She simply stood against him, feeling his arms around her, his hand stroking her back gently. Then, when she decided she was calm enough, she pulled herself away from him.

"I'm going to go to bed," she said quietly.

"Goodnight," he smiled and kissed her forehead, lingering his lips there for a moment. "Sweet dreams."

Without a single word more, the two made their way into their own Dormitories. Aurelia laid in her bed without changing her clothes or pulling the covers over her. She simply lay atop her bed with her shoes kicked off on the floor. She immediately felt regret wash over her for all the nasty things she had said to her father. She loved her father so much. She had never before gotten into a fight like this with him. _She drew her wand on him_. Yet, he never even thought to draw his and fight back. He loved her that much. If Draco had not cut in, Dillard would have let his daughter torture him without lifting a finger to stop it. He did not deserve what Aurelia had said and done to him. He was the best thing in her life. He had always been by Aurelia's side. He had always loved her. Though he didn't always feel the same way about his son. Aurelia didn't blame him, though. It was true that Jasper had been on his way to becoming a blood-traitor. Aurelia was never able to admit it before but it was the truth. She admired her father for everything. Her entire life, her father had been there for her. He raised her and made her his little girl. Leandra never once took the same interest in Aurelia. It was always about herself for Leandra. But not Dillard. No, he was always the ideal parent. He didn't deserve any of what Aurelia said to him. She felt horrible. She felt like a monster for having treated her father that badly.

* * *

**A/N: I am so so sorry it's so short. I'm actually quite upset at myself for it. I cursed myself many times because this chapter was only 2701 words long. I usually try to go 3000-4000 if not more. I'm really sorry. I just didn't want to do anything more with this chapter. However, I'm sure you'll all survive two days with just this.**

**SPOILER FOR CHAPTER 17: You'll find out Issac's secret! And Aurelia won't react kindly to it...**

**Once again, Happy Birthday Ginny Weasley! :)**


	18. Heated Arguments

**-17-  
**Heated Arguments, Boring Birthdays and Small Confusions

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**Summary:** She barely even knew him. Draco Malfoy was just one of those kids she passed in the halls between classes or asked to borrow a piece of parchment from when she had none. Thanks to the Dark Lord, however, Aurelia Finn and Draco Malfoy will soon find out they have a little more than just age and house in common. And maybe a little bit greater of a task than just "that Charms essay due next period" under way.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except my made up character and plot. J.K Rowling owns all else.  
**Warnings:** Sexual Situations, Violence, Character Death, Substance Use/ Abuse, Adult Language, Book 7 Disregarded, Book 6 Events Slightly Altered  
**A/N: **Sorry this took all day. I usually post in the morning but I was playing with my Photoshop today. It had been down for an extremely long time and I just got a new serial number and stuff for it yesterday so I've been having fun. I even made a proper banner for this story. (Go to my profile and where it says "Writing: Unexpectedly Acquainted" the story title is a link to the banner). Nevertheless, I got it out. Besides, since most of my readers seem to be from the US, you're getting this right in the middle of the day so no worries for you. All my UK readers(and others on this side of the globe), sorry. :)

* * *

After three days of relentless trying, Issac decided that enough was enough. He had attempted to talk to Aurelia privately everyday and constantly kept getting interrupted just before he said anything. At this point, he would have been willing to send her a Howler over breakfast if that would be the only way to tell her. When the four friends were sitting in the Common Room on Friday afternoon, pouring over their ridiculous amounts of homework, Issac decided that he would talk to Aurelia about his secret. Pushing aside his Transfiguration essay which fluttered lazily amongst a pile of books, parchment and candy wrappers, Issac turned to Aurelia.

"Reli?" he said quietly. Aurelia blinked a few times and looked up from the essay she was scribbling at furiously. "I was wondering if I could say something?"

"Sure," she nodded absently and muttered under her breath as she spotted another mistake on her parchment and scribbled it out.

"The thing is that," he began slowly, bracing himself. "I've never told you about my father, you know."

"Uh-hu," she nodded again, barely paying attention.

"Well, my father is--"

"Hey Aurelia, is this right?" Draco interrupted as he pointed to a spot on his page.

"No, no, no," Aurelia shook her head furiously. "Gillyweed is native to the _Mediterranean _and is green in colour, see? It's not the Baltic. You've got it confused with fluxweed."

"Oh," Draco furrowed his brows in understanding and began to scribble at his essay.

"You were saying, Issac?" Aurelia looked at him quickly to show him that she was listening before returning to her essay.

"Yes, my father. The truth is that--"

"Hey, Reli, what's the antidote for a Swelling Solution?" Pansy cut in.

"I think it's a Deflating Draught," she waved her off.

"So, my father," Issac persisted. "He's--"

"Oi, Finn! You have any spare parchment?" called Daphne Greengrass from the table across the room.

"I just really want to tell--" Issac tried.

"I should somewhere," Aurelia looked at the clutter around her.

"It's actually somewhat important that you know--"

"Hurry before I lose my train of thought," Daphne laughed.

"I would love if you listened for a second--"

"Oh, found some!"

"--It's just that I didn't want--"

"Never mind, I drew on that…"

"--you to think--"

"How much do you need exactly?"

"--differently of me--"

"What happens if you don't freeze Ashwinder Eggs, Aurelia?"

"--only because you're--"

"They ignite, I think."

"--my best friend. So the thing is--"

"Have you found that parchment yet, Aurelia?"

"MY FATHER IS A MUGGLEBORN!" Issac bursted, unable to deal with the interruptions any longer. The entire Common Room went dead quiet. If anyone tried, the sound of a pin dropping on the carpet would probably be as loud as dropping a brick.

"W-what?" Aurelia blinked, her full attention finally on Issac.

"My father. He's a muggleborn," he sighed and sunk back in his seat on the floor. Aurelia seemed lost for words, she simply sat looking at him as though waiting for him to yell out "Just kidding!"

"Muggleborn?" Aurelia asked calmly.

"Yes," Issac said slowly, thinking that she was taking it rather well.

"That's quite interesting," she nodded. "And you've never told me this?"

"Well, no. I just never wanted you to not like me," he admitted.

"I see," she nodded again, a blank look on her face, matching her monotone voice.

"I'm sorry I never told you," he added. Everyone in the Common Room was staring intently between Issac and Aurelia. No one dared move or speak. They were all holding their breaths, waiting for a reaction.

"WHAT!" Aurelia screamed, the truth finally sinking in. "YOU'RE FATHER WAS A _WHAT!_"

"Aurelia," Draco put his hand on her arm warningly but she threw it off.

"I CAN NOT BELIEVE YOU NEVER TOLD ME! YOU LYING BASTARD! YOU'RE A FUCKING…HALF-BLOOD!" she screamed, shaking in her seat.

"I know but--"

"ALL THESE YEARS! _SEVEN FUCKING YEARS_! YOU SPENT SEVEN YEARS WITH ME! I SAT AND TALKED ABOUT MY HATRED FOR PEOPLE LIKE--LIKE YOU! AND YOU STOOD THERE AND SAID _NOTHING_!" she continued to yell. Her knuckles were turning white from the tight fists she was forming. She stood from the couch and hovered over Issac.

"Please, Reli," he pleaded.

"DON'T-CALL-ME-THAT!" she screamed. Then, taking a deep breath, she lowered her voice to a cold whisper. "Don't ever come near me. Don't ever talk to me. If you do, I swear on my father's grave that I will kill you. I will kill just like I killed that half-blood traitor, Cara Boyd."

With that, Aurelia turned slowly on the spot and walked gracefully out of the Common Room. Everyone stared at her as she left then quickly diverted their eyes to Issac when she was gone. Still, everyone was silent. The look on Issac's face was unreadable, to say the least. The shock of Aurelia's words lingered in the air and her threat stung him like poison. No, not a threat. It was a promise. An honest to God, promise. She _swore_. After less than a minute passed, though it seemed like several hours, Draco and Pansy rushed from their seats and out of the Common Room after Aurelia.

"Aurelia!" Draco called as he ran after her. She was walking briskly down the dungeon corridor, trying to realize what just happened.

"Are you alright?" Pansy asked once the two had caught up. She didn't reply but kept walking, her eyes staring ahead blankly.

"Aurelia, stop," Draco said and grabbed her shoulders, turning her towards him. Still, she said nothing, only threw her arms around Draco in desperation.

"Half-blood," she uttered in disbelief. "It makes sense, I guess. His father never wrote and he always made it such a fuss to never bring him up."

"I know," Draco nodded.

"I feel disgusting," Aurelia observed. "I was _friends _with _that_."

"You shouldn't need to," he shook his head. "It's him that's disgusting."

"He's right," Pansy supplied. Then, putting a hand on Aurelia's back added, "Although, maybe you should think about this. I know what he is but after all, you two have been best friends for seven years."

"I don't care if we've been best friends since the womb. He's a liar and he's filth," she spat.

"_Don't ever come near me. Don't ever talk to me. If you do, I swear on my father's grave I'll kill you. I'll kill you just like I killed that half-blood traitor, Cara Boyd," she whispered coldly at her once-best friend and, turning slowly on the spot, walked gracefully out of the Common Room._

_After stepping through the stone wall, she was not in the cool, dimly lit corridor of the dungeons. No, instead she was in some place that looked oddly like the foyer in her own home. Suddenly, a sound erupted from the area of the sitting room. Aurelia retrieved her wand from her robe pocket and followed the noise. Her eyes fell upon a sight that lit her entire face up._

"_Harry Potter," she hissed. The raven-haired boy whipped around to see Aurelia Finn holding her wand out against him._

"_Aurelia Finn," he laughed sardonically. "Fancy meeting you here."_

"_What are you doing here, Potter?"_

"_I do believe you have something that I want," he grinned and pulled his own wand out._

"_I doubt it," she sneered. "_Expelliarmus_!"_

"_Taking a leaf out of my book, eh?" Potter said sarcastically._

"_Only for the meantime," she nodded. "_Accio wand_!"_

"_What are you going to do?" Potter said cautiously as his own phoenix-feather wand flew into the dangerous hands of Aurelia Finn._

"_Only something that I think should have been done ages ago. _Expulso_!" she cried and the wand before her burst into a thousand wood splinters. "What are you going to do now, Potter?"_

"_My-my-my wand!" he stuttered._

"_Yes, that's right. Gone. Poof. Now to take care of you. _Incarcerous_!" she spoke and ropes emitted themselves from the end of her wand, binding tightly around Potter's body. "Looks like I'm calling the shots now, Potter. So tell me, what is it that you are doing in my house?"_

_Potter tried to answer but no sound came out of his mouth. Aurelia smirked proudly at her non-verbal Silencing Charm._

"_What's that? I can't seem to hear you," she said. Potter screamed and still, was silent._

"_--OFF OF ME!" the second part of his sentence rung out through the empty room as the Silencing Charm was lifted._

"_No need to shout, Potter," she said snidely and Potter simply glared at her. "I've got an interesting proposition for you, Potter. I think you'll rather like it."_

"_Not likely," he sneered. Aurelia chuckled and pulled back the sleeve of her robes._

"_See this?" she indicated to the Dark Mark with her wand. "All I need to do is to press this pretty little tattoo with my wand and the Dark Lord himself will make an appearance. Goodness knows he's been _dying_ to see you. Ah, do I detect fear? Yes, I would rather think so. So tell me, Potter, how does it feel to get beaten by a girl, eh? Not too great, am I right? You can't even escape a startled seventeen-year-old girl and you claim to be better than the Dark Lord? The greatest sorcerer that ever lived?"_

"_Albus Dumbledore--" he began to defend._

"_Dumbledore's dead! You have your ruddy friend Snape to thank for that. Ah yes, Severus Snape. How he has betrayed us all. I loved him, you know. He was like an uncle to me. A cousin, if you will. To tell you the truth, I have had it up to here with liars and traitors. Snape was one, Cara Boyd was one, even my best friend! Can you imagine? Terrible. But not you, Harry Potter. Never you. You're--what was it--ah yes, 'Dumbledore's man through and through'. Always fighting for the good of all man kind. For the mudbloods and muggles. Let me tell you something, Potter. There is no good and there is no evil. There is only opinion. Opinion on what is the correct way to go about one's life. What we do is not evil, no. That's what you make us out to be. What we do is powerful. We gain power and control. After all, isn't that what you're doing?"_

"_We are doing nothing like you!" Potter spoke for the first time in ages._

"_Aren't you? I think you're wrong. You're doing exactly as we are. You're fighting the opposing side to be in power for your own cause. Only thing is, your cause is will _lose_."_

"_You wish," he spat._

"_Face it, Potter. We've won. You are the only thing standing in the way. Don't worry, that will all change very soon," she smirked as she touched the Dark Mark on her arm with the tip of her wand and concentrated hard on the Dark Lord._

_Mere moments later, a man with a pale face in black robes appeared. His skin was pasty and contrasted oddly with his attire. The eyes that were sunken into his skull were mere slits, as a snake's would be. His long, brittle fingers held a wand that was nearly the same white colour as the hand enclosed around it._

"_What have you called me for, Finn?" he hissed cruelly._

"_My Lord," she fell to her knees and looked towards the bound body standing just several feet away._

"_Harry Potter," rang his cold, high voice. "What a pleasure."_

"_Barely," Potter sneered._

"_Finn," the Dark Lord turned to Aurelia. "Call the rest."_

"_Yes, My Lord," she nodded and placed the tip of her wand to her Dark Mark once more. Seconds later, the room filled with men and women in black robes and masks._

"_My faithful Death Eaters," he addressed them. "Once more, Miss Finn has exceeded all of you. She has caught for me, the one person whom I have been searching for all year. _Harry Potter_."_

_Angry growls circled the room as each Death Eater threw Potter venomous looks from underneath their masks._

"_Finn," he turned quickly to Aurelia. "You may have a little fun, if you wish, as your reward."_

"_Thank you, my Lord," she smirked and walked towards Potter with her wand. "So, how does it feel now? How is the famous Harry Potter going to escape now? You don't have any friends to use their better talent to save you. You don't have your wand to perform ancient magic to save you. You don't have your parents to die for you--"_

"_SHUT UP!" he roared._

"_Feisty, aren't we, Harry Potter?" Aurelia growled in pleasure at his reaction for it was just the one she was looking for. "Let's see how well you react to this. _Crucio_!"_

_Potter's scream rang through her ears, piercing her ear drums. It was a lovely sound. One that made her smile despite herself._

"Aurelia," she was being shaken. "Aurelia, wake up!"

"W-what?" she yawned as she rubbed her eyes.

"Honestly, get out of bed! Don't you know what day it is!" Pansy said merrily.

"No but you just interrupted a rather marvellous dream," she said stiffly.

"You'll get over it! It's your birthday!" she cheered.

"Already!?" Aurelia cried, shooting out of bed. She looked to the magical calendar pinned onto her wall and surely enough, the second of February flashed red, indicating that it was today.

She couldn't even remember the month of January flying by the way it did. It had been weeks since she had found out about Issac's father being a muggleborn and yet the incident invaded her dreams every other night. She had not spoken to Issac since that day in the Common Room. He had been keeping his distance, afraid of what Aurelia might do to him. Kill him, being the most likely on account of she swore on her father's grave that she would.

"You are so out of it," Pansy shook her head with a smile. "Now come on and get dressed. I've taken all your presents downstairs. Draco's waiting for you."

At the mention of Draco's name, Aurelia's face lit up and she practically sprinted out of the room. Without bothering to do so much as get dressed properly, she threw on a bathrobe and ran into the Common Room to see Draco sitting on the sofa, presents piled on top of the table in front of him.

"Aurelia, Happy Bir--oof," he groaned as Aurelia came crashing into him, throwing her arms around his neck. "Happy Birthday."

"Thanks, Draco," she smiled and turned to her presents. She grabbed the first one and began ripping it open.

She got a set of new dress robes from her aunt and uncle in France; A large box of Zonko's products from her older cousins; A box of every candy imaginable from her mother and grandmother; And a stationary set complete with different coloured parchment, three feather quills, four separate coloured ink bottles and a journal from her father.

"Ah, just three left. I wonder who they're from," she said with sarcasm as she stared pointedly at the two people next to her. However, when she picked up the next present it was from someone completely unexpected. It was a decent size box with a brilliant green wrapping. Aurelia took the small note that was attached to the outside.

_Aurelia,__  
Happy Birthday. You might not want this anymore but I bought it quite a while ago.  
-Issac_

Aurelia scoffed and without even bothering to see what was inside, she threw the present into the fire where it crackled loudly and slowly burned away.

"Erm, Reli? Why did you just burn that?" Draco asked sceptically.

"Issac," she muttered under her breath and grabbed the next present off of the table. She tore back the violet wrapping and launched herself at Pansy.

"You are absolutely the greatest best friend ever," she said quickly before letting her go and setting aside her new present from Pansy. It was a book titled _So You Want to Be a Rebel_ by Marietta Abshire. After looking through several pages in the book Aurelia found it to be filled with charms for changing your hair-colour, body piercing and tattoos.

"Oh, that's mine!" Draco said eagerly as she picked up the last of her gifts. Aurelia unwrapped the small package and held the velvet box gently in her hands. Upon opening it she saw a dazzling diamond bracelet encircled with Amethysts, her birthstone.

"Oh, Draco," she sighed in awe. "It's--it's--"

At a loss for words to describe the beauty of the purple-gem bracelet, Aurelia simply threw her arms around Draco's neck and gave him a long and passionate kiss. They were interrupted by Pansy clearing her throat.

"Well, since that's over and done with," she giggled. "Let's bring this stuff upstairs and go to breakfast. You have quite a day ahead of you, Aurelia."

"I beg your pardon?" she asked but no one replied.

Aurelia ignored every attempt at skipping classes to celebrate that Pansy and Draco made. She was not about to miss an entire day of lessons just several months before the N.E.W.Ts simply because it was her birthday. At dinner, Pansy was nearly begging her to sneak out to Hogsmeade.

"Pansy, I have a million homework assignments. Besides, I don't really like doing anything special for my birthday, anyway," she insisted. After several more failed attempts, Pansy decided to give up and let Aurelia spend her birthday studying.

"Draco, I really can't!" Aurelia protested the next day. Draco had insisted that they skip at least their last class.

"Oh, come on, you didn't let us pull you away from lessons yesterday! It's just History of Magic."

"Draco, the N.E.W.Ts are just a few months away!" she pleaded as she tried to pull her hand from his grasp.

"They are _several_ months away. Besides you could do with a little relaxation," he said suggestively. Aurelia gave in.

"Alright, fine. Let me go put my books away in the Dormitory," she giggled.

"Hurry," Draco winked. Aurelia kissed his cheek quickly and ran down the passageway to her room. When she opened the door she saw two people snogging furiously and quickly closed. Just as she began walking away, realization hit her and she threw the door open.

"Pansy?!" she cried out and Theodore Nott pulled away from her.

"Aurelia!" she yelled in surprise. Theodore did wait to be told off by Aurelia and ran out of the Dormitory.

"I'm not even going to bother asking how he managed to get in here past the charms. What I am going to ask is what in Merlin's name you're doing snogging Nott when you're _supposed_ to be going out with Todor!" Aurelia scolded.

"Aurelia, please," she began.

"I can not believe you did this! Pansy, I thought you were better than that!"

"I'm sorry!" she said genuinely. "I really am but think about it! What would you do if your boyfriend lived Merlin knows where and you couldn't see him for several months at a time!"

"I wouldn't cheat!" she yelled.

"That's easy for you to say now because _your_ boyfriend is always conveniently just down the hall!"

"What! I can't believe you just said that! I would never stoop so low, Pansy!" she screamed.

"Can you be so sure?"

"No," she sighed. "I guess I really can't but Pansy you can't do this. It isn't fair to Todd. I've known him for a few years now and he's a really nice guy. I don't want you to do this, Pansy."

"I'm sorry," she said again. "I won't."

"Oh," she let out a huge sigh of relief. "Thank _Merlin_! I thought I was going to have to argue with you. I do not need to lose you as a friend, too."

"Yes, that would rather suck, wouldn't it?" Pansy laughed and the two girls left the Dormitory giggling at themselves.

"What the bloody hell?" Draco asked, befuddled.

"What?" Aurelia wiped away a tear of laughter from the corner of her eye.

"Why are you two laughing? I just heard screaming and arguing two seconds ago!" Draco said. Aurelia and Pansy simply laughed at him.

"Let's go see what else your little Room of Requirement can do," she whispered seductively and led a very confused Draco Malfoy out of the Common Room.

**A/N: Well, that was a pretty good length, I think. Made up for Chapter 16. That one was so short. I know I skipped a lot of time in this chapter but it would have all been pretty pointless. This story is going to pick up immensley from now on. There won't be a single pointless filler chapter. Every chapter is going to be crucial to the plot. The story is, after all, nearly over. Tear. Never fear, you have until Chapter 24.**

**I used the word "chapter" excessively in my author's note. Haha, just thought that I should point out how much that bothered me.**

**Chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter**** chapter.**

That's better :D


	19. Small Confusions

**-18-  
**Small Confusions, Recited Speeches and Emotional Reunions

* * *

**Summary:** She barely even knew him. Draco Malfoy was just one of those kids she passed in the halls between classes or asked to borrow a piece of parchment from when she had none. Thanks to the Dark Lord, however, Aurelia Finn and Draco Malfoy will soon find out they have a little more than just age and house in common. And maybe a little bit greater of a task than just "that Charms essay due next period" underway.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except my made up character and plot. J.K Rowling owns all else.  
**Warnings:** Sexual Situations, Violence, Character Death, Substance Use/ Abuse, Adult Language, Book 7 Disregarded, Book 6 Events Slightly Altered  
**A/N: **Erm, I lied. Sorry. Last chapter I said that there will no longer be any pointless filler chapters. This is a pointless filler chapter. I tried to go for a little bit of comic relief but since I absolutely suck at humour, I don't think it worked. The mood was lighter, at least. The next chapter is going to be intense and dramatic so this was necessary. And, I am SO sorry for the length. This is more than extremely short.

* * *

"You're mental!" Aurelia cried.

"I'm telling you, the Wimbourne Wasps have been doing atrociously this season. I wouldn't be surprised if the Chudley Cannons beat them out," said Draco.

"Are you out of your mind? The Wasps have only lost about half of their games and the Chudley Cannons have lost nearly all of them!"

"You're both wrong," Pansy cut in. "The Wimbourne Wasps have won about three-fourths of their games this season."

"I beg your pardon!" Aurelia scoffed.

"Hey, don't blame me. I don't make up the statistic."

"Well, you must be getting your statistic from The Quibbler because that is rubbish," Aurelia shook her head.

"It's true. And the Chudley Cannons have won at least half of their matches this season," she added.

"Now I _know_ you're getting this from the Quibbler! The Cannons have won like one game!"

"Actually," Draco supplied, setting down his orange juice. "That game was a tie and they lost by ten points in overt-time."

"Now you're just siding with Aurelia," Pansy denied.

"I am not! I'm siding with the truth," he said. Then, upon seeing the look of fake-hurt on Aurelia's face added, "And I'm siding with her."

"That's better," Aurelia giggled and kissed Draco on the lips.

"Ahem," someone cleared their throat from behind them.

"Good morning, Professor McGonagall," Aurelia said sheepishly, wiping her mouth.

"I trust you three are ready," she said sternly.

"Ready, Professor?" Aurelia asked.

"To go home," she said.

"Professor, it's only the twenty-seventh of March. Easter Holiday isn't for another week," Aurelia noted.

"Have you forgotten that you're leaving early for your Aunt Violet's wedding?" McGonagall asked.

"My wha--oh! Yes, yes of course," Aurelia nodded. "Thank you."

"Hmph," she eyed them suspiciously. "You leave tonight."

"Have I ever told you how much I love your non-existent Aunt Violet?" Pansy sighed when McGonagall had left.

"Looks like you'll have to get her an extra special wedding gift," Aurelia commented.

"Yeah," Pansy nodded. "I'll get her an invisible couch to put in her invisible house that she'll be living in with her invisible new French husband."

"You do that," Aurelia laughed. Then, suddenly her face fell to a frown. "She said we're leaving tonight. TONIGHT?! Is my father _mental_?! The N.E.W.Ts are less than two months away and he expects me to miss an entire week of classes?!"

"Oh, here she goes again," Draco sighed.

"The N.E.W.Ts are the most important exams of our young lives! It will determine our entire future! It'll put us in our jobs! Without good jobs, we'll be at the bottom of society! I can not be at the bottom of society. The N.E.W.Ts are not a joke! I can not miss class this close to exams!" she ranted and--though she didn't notice--Draco mouthed the entire speech silently along with her as this wasn't the first time she had recited it.

"Aurelia, relax. The teachers will give you make-up work, I'm sure."

"You better be right, Draco," she sighed angrily and stuffed toast into her mouth.

"Maybe we should get to Potions, so that we're not late," Pansy suggested and Aurelia nearly sprinted out of the Great Hall, dragging Draco behind her.

.

"I say we go pack," Pansy stated when they were walking out of their Defence Against the Dark Arts class.

"Can we at least eat lunch first?" Aurelia groaned.

"If we must," Pansy rolled her eyes and so the trio headed to the Great Hall. The moment they had finished eating, they returned to the Slytherin Common Room and went to the their own dormitories to pack for the long Easter Holiday.

"Wonder what your dad wants from us. Do you think I should bring my swimsuit?" Pansy said from behind her bed.

"It's March, Pansy."

"So that's a no?"

"That's a no," Aurelia laughed. "Merlin only knows, though. My father is pretty unpredictable. Will I be needing dress robes?"

"I'd bring them just in case," she shrugged. "Maybe he just really wants you home."

"I don't think so," she shook her head. "Have you seen my running shoes?"

"Why are you packing running shoes?" Pansy asked, folding a red t-shirt. "I bet he has something special planned."

"For comfort," she answered. "I really wouldn't be surprised. He _always _has something special planned."

"Enough to pull us out of school?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe. Oh, found them."

"I'm all set," Pansy sighed as she closed her trunk. "Whatever it is, I'm glad. I need an early break from this place."

"I don't! Not with--"

"--N.E.W.Ts, I know."

"You seem rather calm about N.E.W.Ts," Aurelia observed.

"Stress is bad for the complexion," she joked and Aurelia threw a pillow at her head.

"These are important, you know."

"Yes, I know. You and every Professor in the school has only told me this about a thousand times," Pansy laughed.

"Exactly," she nodded. "Let's go to the Common Room."

"Right behind you," Pansy agreed and the two of them left the room, closing the door behind them.

"Well, that took you long enough," Draco chuckled as he stood from the couch and kissed Aurelia quickly on the lips.

"You know how us girls take _forever_ to get ready," Aurelia mocked.

"Ah, but it all pays off because you always look so stunning," he grinned.

"You are too kind, Mr. Malfoy," she smiled and kissed him sweetly on the lips. There came a sound of fake vomiting from behind Aurelia and she turned around to Pansy, blushing.

"Would you two like me to leave you alone?"

"Now, now. No need to be jealous," Aurelia shook her head.

"I am not jealous, you two are simply revoltingly cute," she grinned. "Let's go outside for a bit."

"Sounds good," Draco nodded approvingly and the three of them went out onto the grounds where they spent the rest of the day relaxing in the cool Spring breeze.

Just before dinner, Flitwick found the trio and said McGonagall had sent him to escort them off of the grounds. Pansy, Aurelia and Draco went back to the dungeons where they got their belongings and followed Flitwick out of school. With a wave goodbye, they Disapparated and reappeared at the Finn Manor.

"Daddy!" Aurelia called when she saw Dillard Finn and ran into his arms. "I am so sorry."

"For what, dear?" he chuckled.

"For yelling at you and nearly attacking you," she said softly.

"I know you're sorry, Reli. I sort of got that impression from the three dozen letters filled with apologizes that you sent."

"Oh, right," she pulled away. "So, why exactly are we here early?"

"We're going to be having a small gathering here on Sunday. You all need to be here for it. Actually, only Draco and you do but I thought you would want to bring your best friends. Erm, where's Issac?" he looked around. Draco and Pansy flinched slightly. Aurelia had not mentioned Issac since the incident and always snapped furiously when anyone did.

"Tell you later," she mumbled sourly.

"Alright," he nodded, sensing that something was wrong. "You can take your bags upstairs. Pansy, we have the same bed set up for you in Aurelia's room. Draco, the guest room next to it is all set as well."

"Thank you, sir," Draco nodded. Pansy smirked, knowing full well that he would not be using that room much during his visit. Aurelia shot her a look and she quickly wiped the expression off of her face before walking up the stairs behind Tawny, who was levitating all three of their trunks in front of her.

"So, this is your room, eh?" Draco said when he walked in. Aurelia turned around from unpacking her trunk to look at him.

"Yes," she nodded. "Like it?"

"I will," he grinned mischievously and picked Aurelia up by the waist, kissing her softly on lips.

"Will you two ever _stop_?!" Pansy shrieked. "You're getting ridiculous."

"Jealous," Aurelia teased in a sing-song voice.

"Oh, sod it, I am not."

"Whatever you say," she shrugged. Pansy didn't reply, instead, she smirked and began writing on a piece of parchment.

"Who are you writing to?" Aurelia asked.

"You'll see."

Judging from the fact that mere hours later, Todor Balakov showed up at the front door, Aurelia guessed it was him she had written to.

"Shouldn't you be at school, Todd?" Aurelia asked when she let him inside.

"Left early," he said. "My mother says we are to be coming here Sunday."

"That you are," she grinned.

"Todd!" Pansy squealed and ran into his arms, kissing him full on the lips.

"Now I know how you feel," Aurelia muttered as she walked away.

"Good!" Pansy called after her and Aurelia had to try and suppress a grin.

* * *

**A/N: Once again, sorry so much for the shortness. This needed to be done because the next chapter is so hectic. Please don't kill me for the pointlessness. I'm sure you'll last two days.**

**Also, I've decided not to beg you to review anymore. Infact, I'm begging you to **_**not**_** review. Do.Not.Review.This.Chapter.**

**That was my attempt at reverse psychology , did it work?**

.

P.S. I AM SO OUTRAGED! I WANT TO BITE SOMEONE'S HEAD OFF! OK, breathe... So, the news of the HBP release date has gotten me very, very angry. I've been ranting about it all morning. For those of you that don't know yet, Warner Bros. made a press release yesterday stating that the date for the sixth Harry Potter film will not be the 21st of November, 2008. Instead, it will be THE SEVENTEENTH OF JULY, 2009!!  
I swear, I feel like going on a rampage to WB and Avada Kedavra-ing everyone there!  
You would think that maybe if the movie wasn't ready that it would be acceptable. NO! THE MOVIE IS FINISHED! IT IS DONE! NO EDITING, NO TWEAKING! IT WILL BE SITTING IN A WAREHOUSE FOR THE NEXT 11 MONTHS!  
I am beyond enraged. Beyond angry. Beyond mad. I don't even know how to deal with this.  
Please, everyone go to /petitions/harrypotter6 and sign to get our November release back!  
**Boycott Warner Bros. until HBP is released!**

.

God, I need a Mugglecast so badly...


	20. Emotional Reunions

**-19-  
**Emotional Reunions, Dinner Parties and Future Plans

* * *

**Summary:** She barely even knew him. Draco Malfoy was just one of those kids she passed in the halls between classes or asked to borrow a piece of parchment from when she had none. Thanks to the Dark Lord, however, Aurelia Finn and Draco Malfoy will soon find out they have a little more than just age and house in common. And maybe a little bit greater of a task than just "that Charms essay due next period" underway.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except my made up character and plot. J.K Rowling owns all else.  
**Warnings:** Sexual Situations, Violence, Character Death, Substance Use/ Abuse, Adult Language, Book 7 Disregarded, Book 6 Events Slightly Altered  
**A/N: **Oh Merlin, I can't even begin to say how much I loved writing this chapter. It was one of my favourite. I actually stretched the beginning out a little bit. I wanted a light mood to start with because it gets intense later. I want to say there's a lot of action in this chapter but that's not quite the word I'm looking for. Erm...movement. That's a little more suitable. It's not boring. They don't simply sit around and do nothing. You'll get a small glimpse at the Pansy/Todor relationship but not much. You'll learn a small tid bit fact about Todor. This chapter mostly divulges a lot of information that's been left out from the beginning of the story. It just fills in the gaps about some things that weren't mentioned by the characters earlier. This was my intention, I feel it's better to leave things off like this. In the middle was my favorite part and the ending was a little more mellow I guess. Oh God, I'm rambling. Just read it. I loved this chapter. It does so much for Aurelia' s character.

* * *

"I used to," Todor nodded to Draco as he set down another card.

"What do you mean?" Draco asked, examining the cards in his hand.

"See, my mother is English and my father is Bulgarian. When my father died a few years ago, mother and I moved to England, to be closer to family."

"Must have been hard to leave your home in Bulgaria," Draco observed and decided on setting a card down.

"It was," he nodded. "I knew Viktor Krum, you know."

"No kidding," Draco chuckled lightly. "So did I."

"Really?" he asked. Draco nodded and set down his own card after Todd's. "Oh, didn't he come Hogwarts three years ago for the Triwizard Tournament?"

"He sure did," Draco replied. "So, if you live in England now, why haven't you transferred to Hogwarts?"

"Dumbledore considered it. Said he would be more than happy to let me. I didn't want to, though," he shook his head. "It was hard enough leaving home. I didn't want to leave school as well."

"Understandable," Draco nodded. He watched Todor set down his next card. "I woul--"

_Bang_. A loud explosion erupted from the card game in front of them. Coughing and sputtering, Draco waved his arms in front of his face and said, with a wide grin,

"I win."

"So you do," Todd furrowed his eyebrows. "Play again?"

Draco nodded in response and so the game continued.

_Bang_. A small explosion was heard from the window directly above Pansy and Aurelia's heads.

"My pin is on Draco," Aurelia said quickly.

"Probably," Pansy shook her head. "Todor is lousy at Exploding Snap."

"Have you told him yet?" Aurelia asked.

"Told who, what?"

"Have you Todd about," she dropped her voice so that it wouldn't carry to the open window. "Having cheated on him with Theodore?"

"No," she shook her head. "Should I?"

"Are you mental?" Aurelia exclaimed. "Of course you shouldn't! What he doesn't know, won't hurt him."

"What would I do without a friend like you," Pansy laughed.

"You wouldn't have a boyfriend, that's for sure," Aurelia joked.

"How are you and Draco doing?" Pansy asked.

"What do you think?"

"Oh, yes I forgot, you have the world's most perfect boyfriend," she rolled her eyes sarcastically.

"That I do," Aurelia grinned.

"You should have seen the two of you yesterday," Pansy chuckled. "I honestly thought someone had put a Permanent Sticking Charm on you. You were inseparable. I think the only time I saw you alone was when either of you left to use the toilet. When you came back, it was as though you hadn't seen each other in weeks. It was disgusting."

"You are so jealous," Aurelia teased playfully.

"Most definitely not," she shook her head. "Far from it."

"Oh come on," Aurelia continued to tease. "I know you used to have an undying affection for Draco a couple of years ago."

"Don't remind me," Pansy shook her head. "To say the truth, I think I was in love with the idea of being with him. Once he finally gave in and agreed to go out with me, it wasn't interesting anymore. I realized I didn't have an real feelings for him. That's why I broke it off so quickly."

"I thought he broke up with you," Aurelia said in a puzzled manner.

"I told him he could tell people that," she laughed.

"See, that's the difference for me right there," Aurelia said once her laughter subsided. "I never really liked the idea of being with him. I didn't even fancy him until after he started going out with that half-blood, of cour--"

"I thought Cara was actually a pureblood," Pansy interjected.

"Technicalities," Aurelia dismissed with a wave of her hand. "Of course, by that time it was too late. I'm sure you remember how hard I tried breaking them up."

"My favourite was the rumour that she was a werewolf," Pansy reminisced.

"Yes, her reaction to the flea collar was priceless," Aurelia sighed.

"Especially when she found out there was no anti-pest charm on it," Pansy began laughing. "Quite the opposite, really."

"Ah, I'll never forget seeing her dive headfirst into the lake to escape a swarm of bees," Aurelia sighed happily. "Anyway, where was I? Oh, yes. I think that's what's making this relationship all the better. It's not the idea of being with Draco that I fell in love with, it was Draco himself."

"Pardon?" Pansy stopped laughing abruptly. "You did what?"

"What?"

"What did you just say?" Pansy asked, looking at Aurelia with her mouth wide open.

"I don't know. What did I just say?"

"You just said you're in love with Draco," said Pansy.

"Did I? My fault," she shook her head, a small blushing creeping up on her cheeks. "I didn't mean that."

"OK, sure," Pansy nodded slowly with a large grin.

"Shut up," Aurelia laughed and pushed Pansy playfully, causing her to fall sideways into a flower bush.

"What are you two girl's talking about?" came Draco's voice as he and Todd stepped out into the back garden to join their girlfriends.

"You," Aurelia said truthfully.

"Naturally," Draco replied cockily, resulting in a rather sweet kiss from Aurelia.

"I don't understand these two," Pansy shook her head with a smile.

"And you don't need to," Aurelia stuck her tongue out at her.

"Come on, Todd," Pansy said and stood up, grabbing his hand. "Let's leave them alone before I have to witness more of this."

"So tell me, Miss Finn, how is that little bundle of joy inside of you?" Draco said sweetly as he wrapped his arms around her stomach.

"He's just fine," she smiled. "I'm getting fat, though."

"You look fine," he said as he planted butterfly kisses on her neck.

"I'm serious," she insisted.

"You look fine," he repeated against her skin.

"I've never been fat before," Aurelia observed just as Draco sent shivers down her spine.

"Really?" he said, only half-paying attention.

"Yes, really!" she defended. "I have a naturally fast metabolism."

"That sounds sexy," he murmured and turned her around to him.

"No it doesn't," she giggled.

"Everything about you sounds sexy," he replied huskily and captured her lips with his own.

"Draco, my father is home," she said, pushing him away slightly.

"I don't care," he pulled her back to him and kissed her.

"Really, Draco, we should stop," she insisted.

"You don't want to," he observed and began kissing her neck again.

"That's not the point," she moaned.

"He's not watching," Draco whispered against her, sending chills running through her entire body.

"He could come out," she protested unconvincingly.

"He won't care."

"I hate you," she said finally and brought his lips to hers, catching them in heated longing.

Aurelia's hands soon found their way to Draco's hair and she ran her fingers through the strands. The silky smoothness of the blond tickled her fingers like running water. Draco, meanwhile, had slid his hands down to Aurelia's waist and pulled her even closer to him. Heat radiated from Draco's lips, warming every inch of Aurelia. She moaned slightly in pleasure and tugged on Draco's hair which only made him growl deep in his throat.

"Merlin, you are a god at this," Aurelia gasped as she pulled away.

"Takes one to know one," he smirked.

"I really do think we should stop," she said seriously, blushing slightly at the compliment.

"Fine," Draco pouted and kissed her lips softly one last time. Both of them began walking down the small path in Aurelia's garden with their arms around each other. "You and Pansy weren't actually talking about me earlier, were you?"

"Actually, we were," she nodded.

"What about?" he asked.

"Just girl stuff," she answered.

"In other words, you discussed how amazing I am," he said cockily.

"Yes, Draco, _that's_ what we talked about," she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "And what did you and Todd talk about upstairs?"

"Just guy stuff," he replied with a smirk.

"Ah, so in other words, which girls' pants you wanted to get into," she observed.

"Hey now! We did not talk about that."

"It's OK. You can talk about it. Just don't actually do it."

"Wouldn't dream of it," he smiled, kissing her on the cheek.

"I told Todd," Pansy said calmly a few hours later.

"You told Todd, _what_, exactly?" Aurelia questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"I told him about Theodore Nott," she shrugged.

"You did WHAT!" Aurelia exclaimed, dropping her hairbrush onto the floor.

"Yeah," Pansy nodded, flipping to the next page in her edition of _Witch Weekly_.

"I am so sorry," Aurelia shook her head in sympathy. "I know you really like Todd."

"Aurelia, we didn't break up," Pansy laughed.

"You didn't?"

"No," she set aside her magazine. "I told him it was only once and I was sorry. Then, he told me that he did the same thing with a girl at school but a friend of his walked in before they did anything more than snog."

"That cheating bastard!" Aurelia yelled.

"Aurelia!"

"Right, sorry," she said sheepishly.

"Point is that we both agreed it was a mistake and we won't do it again. Besides, school is almost over," she shrugged.

"Glad it worked out," Aurelia said but there was a dazed look on her face. "Remember that book you gave me for my birthday?"

"Yeah," Pansy nodded. "I don't like that look on your face. What are you planning? Aurelia? Aurelia whatever it is, it better not have anything to do with making my hair an odd colour!"

"No," she shook her head dreamily as she pulled out her copy of _So You Want To Be A Rebel_.

"AHH! SWEET MERLIN! OW!" Pansy screamed at the top of her lungs. "THIS HURTS!"

"Quite moving, I'm going to mess up," Aurelia warned, biting her bottom lip in concentration.

"AAHHHH," she howled.

"Calm down, it's done," she smiled and pulled her wand away from Pansy.

"Bloody hell," she sighed and examined the new embedded in her skin. "That hurt. Ready for yours?"

"Just don't kill me," she joked and pulled down the collar of her shirt. "HOLY MERLIN! PANSY, STOP! IT HU-U-U-RTS!"

"Quite moving, I'm going to mess up," she said, repeating Aurelia's exact words.

"PANSY, YOU BITCH ,THIS HURTS!" she screamed. Aurelia tried to bite back her pain but it didn't seem to be working so she just continued to scream.

"It's finished," Pansy finally announced.

"Looks good," Aurelia sighed, holding a mirror up in front of her. Below their collar bones, just above their left breasts, Aurelia and Pansy had identical tattoos of a fiery red fairy, representing their favourite of the seven deadly sins: Lust.

"Oh," Aurelia said quietly, reading out of the book they had found the tattoo charm in.

"What?" Pansy asked.

"Nothing," Aurelia said hastily and tried to shut the book.

"Let me see," Pansy said, taking the book from her.

"No, it's nothing."

"Aurelia, stop!" she cried and pulled the book out of her hands. Her face immediately fell when she saw what was written on the page.

"Look, I'm sorry," Aurelia began.

"Are you kidding me? Aurelia!"

"I'm sorry!"

"A Numbing Charm!?"

"Sorry!"

"Merlin I hate you," Pansy sighed and shut the book.

"_What_ is all of the screaming about?" Pansy's father exclaimed as he burst into the room. "I--what is that? Is that a tattoo?"

"Maybe," Aurelia grinned sheepishly.

"You got a tattoo without telling me?"

"Sorry," Aurelia repeated once more.

"Merlin knows why I even bother," he sighed, shaking his head. "Well, let me see. Classy."

"Of course it is," Aurelia giggled.

"So I'm guessing all of the screaming was due to the fact that you were giving yourselves tattoos? Why didn't you just use a Numbing Charm?"

"Well…," Aurelia looked at the floor.

"You didn't finish reading, did you?"

"No, we didn't."

"We?!" Pansy cut in defensively.

"OK, _I_," she corrected.

"Are you girls getting ready?" Dillard asked, turning the subject to different matters.

"Going to now," Aurelia said.

"Good, the guests will start arriving in about two hours. Oh, and please cover up those tattoos," he sighed and left the room.

"So what exactly is it we're getting ready for?" Pansy asked, opening up the wardrobe in the corner of the room.

"Dad says it's just a small dinner party. We still have to wear dress robes, though. He says You-Know-Who himself is going to be there."

"No way," Pansy said in awe. "In your house? You guys are so lucky."

"It's great, isn't it? I was thinking I'm going to wear the new robes I got for my birthday…"

A little less than two hours later, Aurelia and Pansy descended the stairs of the Finn Manor. Draco and Todor were standing in the Foyer, waiting for their lovely ladies. A few people were trickling in and heading towards an open door to the left of the stairs.

"Hey, Todd," Draco whispered loudly so that the girls could hear. "Check it out. I call the one on the right. Ten galleons I can get her into bed by eleven."

"Ten galleons I can get the one on the left by ten," Todor joked back.

"Alright you guys, enough," Aurelia laughed and kissed Draco sweetly on the cheek. "My, don't you boys look dashing."

"Not too shabby yourself," Draco smirked and Aurelia hit him on the arm. "Kidding, you're gorgeous."

"I'm not watching this," Pansy threw her arms up in the air. "Let's go see the dining hall, Todd."

"Right behind you!" Todd said eagerly and followed Pansy out of the room.

"That reminds me," Draco snapped his fingers. "Your father said he wanted to speak with me. Should I be worried?"

"No," she shook her head gingerly. "He'll probably just tell you that I'm his little angel. And that I'm a virgin and he prefers to keep it that way."

"YOU?!" Draco's bark-like laughter rung through the entire Foyer and carried out to the room next to it. "You're joking, right?"

"Of course I am," she laughed lightly. "Don't worry. My dad is completely cool. He won't interrogate you. Probably just wants to have a glass of whiskey and tell you stories of me when I was still in diapers."

"I prefer you in a thong," Draco smirked.

"Ha, you've got a sense of humour. My father loves that. Crack a few of those."

"You're joking, right?" he asked again, a little more serious this time.

"Yes. Now get going," she stuck out her tongue and pushed him into the direction of the dining hall.

Aurelia decided to go relax in the sitting room, away from the crowd while she awaited the Dark Lord's arrival. However, she was anything but relaxed when she saw who occupied the couch.

"What are you doing here?" she said harshly and Issac Roberts turned his head to her. "Get out of my house."

"Aurelia, please, I'm just here with mum," he began to explain.

"I said, get out!" she screamed. A few people that were walking in through the front door heard her outburst and peeked in to see who she was yelling at.

"Aurelia, please!"

"Get out of my house! I will not have your filth in _my house_!" she screamed, reaching for her wand.

"Aurelia, can you just listen to me?" he said, cautiously lifting up his hand, motioning for her to stop.

"I'm giving you three seconds," Aurelia spat and pointed her wand at Issac who didn't hesitate in retrieving his own.

"You need to just listen to me!" Issac protested. They had a few onlookers now whom refused to do anything to help the situation.

"_Stupefy_!" Aurelia yelled and Issac just barely dodged the jet of red light.

"Aurelia!" he screamed, dodging yet another Stunning Spell.

"I don't need to listen to anything you say! _Petrificus Totalis_!" she yelled with fury, missing him.

"Aurelia! _Protego_!" he screamed, blocking an oncoming Stunning Spell. "Look it's not-" he dodged the Cruciatus Curse. "-what you-" Another Stunning Spell "-think! Let me-" Crucio just barely flew past his left ear. "-explain!"

"I don't need to hear it! _CRUCIO_!" she yelled.

"_PROTEGO_!" he screamed and held the shield there for a few seconds, allowing Aurelia to stop shooting curses at him. "Just, listen to me!"

"You have thirty seconds," she said fiercely, gripping her wand tightly, prepared to fire at any given moment.

"Look, it was a mistake! _I_ was a mistake! It was just a one-night stand! My mum never meant to get pregnant! You know how it is, she needed a good shag and found a muggleborn to take advantage of!"

"So, you're mother's a whore, your father's a mudblood and you're a lying, filthy, good-for-nothing half-blood. Serves you right. _Avada Kedavra!"_

A flash of green light shot out of Aurelia's wand and hit Issac straight in the chest. He fell to the floor, dead. Next moment, there were ear-piercing shrieks, a few angry and confused shouts of "Aurelia!" and one, bloody curdling cry of "Issac!" Aurelia watching as Mrs. Roberts fell to her son's side, gripping his cold, lifeless body.

"Aurelia, what did you do!" Pansy cried as she ran up to her best friend.

"I did no more than he deserved," Aurelia replied coldly and walked away, taking long strides and spitting in Isaac's direction as she passed.

Aurelia stepped through a pair of glass doors leading to the garden, without looking back at the scene behind her. Rage and a whole matter of other emotions were building up inside of her. She had told Issac, specifically, to never come near her or talk to her ever again. She warned him, she swore on her father's grave, that she would kill him if he did. Aurelia does not easily break promises. Especially not when the death of a half-blood is concerned. At her thoughts, the glass doors slid open again to reveal Draco and Pansy. Neither said a word. Draco draped his arms around Aurelia and held her close to him while Pansy seemed to be lost for words. She seemed as though she opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by another presence in the area.

"What did you do!?" Dillard Finn exclaimed, closing the sliding doors behind him.

"I don't need a lecture," Aurelia said nonchalantly.

"You don't need--you don't--you don't need a _lecture_?" he sputtered, utterly amazing at his daughter's attitude. "What possessed you to do something like that?!"

"He deserved it," she replied. "He was a half-blood and a liar! And I warned him…"

"I understand, Aurelia," he nodded, lowering his voice. "But you can not go around doing things like this. Not tonight. It was very unwise. There is a time and a place for everything Aurelia and this was not it. You need to be more careful."

At those words, the doors to the patio slid open once more. This time, the Dark Lord himself stood before them.

"Leave us," he said plainly. Pansy nodded and quickly retreated out of the garden with Dillard behind her. Draco kissed Aurelia's forehead before leaving her with the very intimidating figure.

"Aurelia," the Dark Lord began. Aurelia was a little startled to be addressed so lightly but still bowed her head in respect. "What you did tonight, was magnificent."

"My Lord?" Aurelia asked in surprise. She had been expecting the same kind of chastising that she received from her father. The Dark Lord nodded and inhaled a deep breath.

"Not many people besides you and I can do what you did hear tonight. To kill one that is dear to our hearts."

"Not to seem rude, sir, but he was not dear to my heart."

"Not after you found out about his bloodline, he wasn't. But before, yes. That is another thing that I am…proud of you for. You are becoming more like me everyday, Miss Finn. I do not doubt my choice anymore now than I did when I first made it. Now, I feel a strong sense of sureness, if you will, to my decision. You will be ready for this when the time comes; If the time comes."

"Thank you, my Lord," Aurelia smiled.

"Like I said, not many people can do what you did hear today. I am very pleased. Now come, I am hungry. I do believe we have dinner waiting." With that, he turned on his heal and walked back into the house. Aurelia, with her head held high and her mood immensely brighter, followed suit.

"What happened?" Draco whispered as she sat down.

"Tell you later," she whispered back and turned her attention to the Dark Lord, whom was now standing in front of them.

"My faithful followers," he began to address them. "There is a reason you have been called to this particular home this evening. Miss Aurelia Leandra Finn, daughter of Leandra and Dillard Finn, will be the topic of my discussion tonight."

Aurelia felt her face burn read as several people looked her way. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her thigh and looked up to see Draco smiling at her reassuringly. She smiled back and continued to listen.

"Where to begin? I supposed I'll start like this. You all know that Harry Potter has been attempting to defeat me for quite some time. As of now, he is closer than he has ever been before. My Horcruxes, in other words, shards of my soul, are destroyed. This gives Potter an opening to kill me. I do not have a doubt in my mind that he will take it. This Prophecy, this ancient magic that put me in the situation I am in may take it's toll on the entire affair. The point is, that if the worst should happen, I will be in need of a successor. And who better to be appointed the position, than Aurelia Finn?" Several more glances were thrown in Aurelia's direction before they reverted back to the Dark Lord. Aurelia could feel her pulse throughout every part of her body and squeezed Draco's hand under the table for comfort. "For any of you who doubt this, take a look at what happened here tonight."

Aurelia's heart completely sank. She looked in the direction of Mrs. Roberts. Her face was set and no emotion filled her eyes. In a way, Aurelia had to admire the way she was able to present herself professionally when she knew that her son's dead body was laying uncared for in the cellar.

"Of course, you all know me better than this and do not expect me to hand over my reign to a young girl and leave it there. Miss Finn is currently--for lack of better words--expecting my child. The long blood line that has been alive for over a thousand years will not die with me, no. Salazar Slytherin will have an heir. He always will. Aurelia Finn will see to it. She will, with no doubt, raise the Heir of Slytherin and offspring of the great and powerful Lord Voldemort in the proper home and the proper way. Preparing him to one day be the greatest sorcerer of his age. And from what I hear from Mr. Finn, Aurelia and Draco Malfoy have been er, dating for quite some time now. So, perhaps, this will all go even better than expected for I have no doubt in the Malfoys nor do I have doubt in the Finns to provide the world with the next great generation," he paused. Aurelia took this time to look at Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy. Narcissa looked as though she wanted to burst out crying from joy. Aurelia half-expected her to leap across the table and smother Draco in congratulatory kisses. Lucius, on the other hand looked as though he were captain if the Chudley Cannons and they had just won the World Cup. "So, I conclude with saying that I expect you all to give Aurelia Finn the same respect you have given me and that I expect Aurelia to take my place in leading us to victory in the far future. Now, let us eat."

These were his last words. He took his seat at the head of the table. Tawny and several other house elves brought out plates, platters and bowls of food. Everyone ate, drank and talked animatedly about what they had just heard. Aurelia saw Lucius and Narcissa look at Draco and her several times during their conversation with nothing but pride in their eyes. Aurelia knew that every person in the room expected her and Draco to marry, especially after an announcement like that, but she was glad no one pushed it. After all, who said she planned on marrying Draco? She didn't even think she loved him…yet.

* * *

**A/N: WHO DIDN'T COMPLETELY **_**LOVE**_** ISSAC DYING?! Oh wow, I had that scene worked out so long ago. I'm so glad I finally got it in. I've been waiting for this chapter for such a long time. Like I said, this chapter did quite a bit for Aurelia's character. I just loved writing it. I hope you loved reading it just as much. I would really, really love feedback, especially on this chapter. Please review. I really need to know what you guys thought because this was definitely my favourite chapter. Please, review this :)**


	21. Future Plans

**-20-  
**Future Plans, Disappearances and Returned Trinkets

* * *

**Summary:** She barely even knew him. Draco Malfoy was just one of those kids she passed in the halls between classes or asked to borrow a piece of parchment from when she had none. Thanks to the Dark Lord, however, Aurelia Finn and Draco Malfoy will soon find out they have a little more than just age and house in common. And maybe a little bit greater of a task than just "that Charms essay due next period" under way.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except my made up character and plot. J.K Rowling owns all else.  
**Warnings:** Sexual Situations, Violence, Character Death, Substance Use/ Abuse, Adult Language, Book 7 Disregarded, Book 6 Events Slightly Altered  
**A/N: **I AM SO SORRY! I know, I didn't post yesterday like I was supposed to. I am truly sorry. I tried to but I didn't. See, the thing is that I finally got around to reading Twilight. I figured that I'd been putting it off for long enough and I definitely wanted to read it all before the movie came out so I did. And well, I'm sure some of you know how that goes. Who wants to think about Draco Malfoy and Aurelia Finn when you've got Edward Cullen and Bella Swan, right? Sigh. Well, here it is, the delayed Chapter 20.

The remainder of the Easter Holiday didn't go the way Aurelia had expected it to. She had every intention of sitting around and doing nothing, to relax from school. She was rather displeased to find that she had no such pleasure. Her days were devoted to studying, training and sex. Yes, that last one as well. She found that she often needed to relax after a hard day and Draco knew how to make her do just that.

Missing classes for a week really had Aurelia in a frenzy. She convinced herself that she would fail the N.E.W.Ts and end up having to work a muggle job. She shuddered at the thought each time it invaded her mind and only forced her to study harder. Draco, Pansy and Dillard were all very worried for her. She was working too hard. Every morning she would wake up, grab a piece of toast out of the kitchen for breakfast and lock herself up in her room for half of the day, pouring over books. Each day, she would leave her room at three o' clock only to work harder.

The Dark Lord feared that the "final battle", as he referred to it, was nearing and Aurelia needed to be prepared for what lay ahead. Therefore, every day at three o' clock Aurelia was to report to training. There, she learned to endure and resist the Imperius Curse, practised casting the Cruciatus Curse and Killing Curse. She also had to become a Legilimens and an Occlumens. The stress of N.E.W.Ts and everyday life didn't particularly help Aurelia in these areas but she was slowly mastering them nonetheless. Very slowly. Although, her advanced skill in resisting the Imperius Curse made Occlumency a tad bit easier but not by much.

"Concentrate," Lucius Malfoy growled.

"You don't think I'm trying?" Aurelia snapped at him as she rubbed her temples.

"Not hard enough."

"You're lucky you're Draco's father, otherwise you'd be hexed into oblivion by now," Aurelia muttered angrily.

"Threatening me isn't helping you master this skill," he retorted though Aurelia was sure she saw his face light up slightly when she mentioned Draco.

"Can we go back to Legilimency for now?" Aurelia pleaded.

"No, you have yet to improve in Occlumency and we will continue until you do."

"Utter rubbish," she mumbled under her breath and braced herself.

"_I did it!" Aurelia shouted happily and sprinted to the kitchen with a letter clutched in her hand. "I made prefect!"_

"_Fantastic," Leandra Finn said nonchalantly, not looking up from her crossword puzzle._

"_Aren't you happy for me, mum?" Aurelia's face fell._

"_Ecstatic," she said in the same monotone voice._

"_Oh, great," Aurelia replied sarcastically. "Nice to know my hard work is appreciated."_

"_What are you on about again?" Leandra looked up with an impatient glint in her eyes._

"_I made prefect, mother," Aurelia spat cruelly. "You know, that thing only one girl in my entire year can make and requires a lot of hard work."_

"_I know what a prefect is, Aurelia. I'm not stupid."_

"_Really? Could have fooled me."_

"_Don't talk to me like that, you ungrateful little wench," her mother said and stood from her place at the kitchen table. She began to advance on her daughter, a venomous look planted across her pasty features._

"Stop!" she screamed. "That's private!"

"It's all private, Finn," Lucius pointed out. "That's why you can't let me see it!"

"Whatever," she muttered and turned to leave the room.

"Where are you going?" Lucius called.

"I fancy a cup of tea," she growled and left, shutting the door behind her.

Everyday was the same routine. She would go to her training, get in a row and leave in a huff. Even when she would do something right, there would always be fault in it.

"_Crucio!_" she yelled and the spider in front of her began to squirm.

"No, you're not putting yourself into it enough," Bellatrix interrupted.

"Pardon?"

"Watch," she said and pointed her wand at the spider. "_Crucio!"_

"How is that any different?" Aurelia asked.

"When you learn to tell, you'll learn to do it right," she explained.

"That is such nonsense. I'm doing it just fine! Would you like a _live _demonstration?"

"You need to learn control," Bellatrix continued.

"That's a load of dung," Aurelia shook her head and walked out of the room.

Every night Aurelia was left pacing her bedroom, uttering the same things under her breath. Draco always had to sit and watch, trying to comfort his girlfriend.

"Did you know that aconite, wolfsbane and monkshood are the same _exact_ thing?" Aurelia said frantically, thrashing her arms around for emphasis.

"Yes, dear, we learned it in first year," Draco nodded.

"We did? Oh, I'm hopeless. I'm going to fail. You know, your family isn't helping much!"

"My family?" Draco cocked an eyebrow.

"'When you learn to tell, you'll learn to do it right'? What's that even supposed to mean? Tell me, can you tell the difference between a perfect Cruciatus and a, er, not perfect one?"

"No…"

"Exactly!" she exclaimed throwing her arms above her head.

"Aurelia, you need to relax," Draco said and walked over to her, holding her by the shoulders at arms length.

"How can I relax with all of this going on, Draco?"

"I'll show you," he smirked and captured her lips with his own. For just that moment, Aurelia let all of her emotions go.

"What is _that_?" Draco asked as he looked down at her. They were on Aurelia's bed at this point, a majority of their clothes discarded onto the floor.

"Tattoo," she smiled. "You like it? It's lust."

"I love it," he smirked and began to kiss the place of the tattoo. This was pure bliss for Aurelia and a perfect way to end a horrible day.

However, the horrible days just kept coming; Each getting worse than the next. Eventually, a week later--when the real time for Easter Holiday began--Aurelia was scolded to not walk out on her training anymore. So, instead, she sat unhappily in front of her tutor for several hours. The time dragged on. Aurelia's studying and training had become more in depth and fierce to the point where she didn't have a single desire to let Draco pleasure her at night.

"Draco, are you in here?" Aurelia called as she walked into her empty room after training. She looked around curiously at the deafening silence the place had thrown over her.

"Behind you," came a whisper by her left ear as a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist.

"Not now, Draco," she shrugged him off and walked over to her bed.

"Are you alright?" he asked as she sat on the bed angrily and began removing her shoes. Training had been in the back garden that day, mainly because of the nice weather.

"Tired," she mumbled as she threw her running shoes across the room.

"No kidding," he muttered under his breath.

"I beg your pardon?"

"You were tired yesterday, the day before that and the day before that. Do you just not want to sleep with me anymore?"

"Draco, you're overreacting. I'm tired. I am not about to start arguing with you. I've had a hard day. Your father worked me like hell," she groaned and stretched out her back.

"I'm sorry," he quickly mumbled. "Don't know what came over me just there. I understand."

"Not sure you do," she said under her breath and pulled her shirt over her head. Though he looked like he wanted to say something, he left, closing the door behind him.

Aurelia sighed and flopped down on her bed. She took in a deep breath and held it in for a few seconds before letting it out again. All she wanted to do was sleep…

"Aurelia, wake up!" Pansy was shaking her awake on the morning of the fourteenth of April.

"Five more minutes," she mumbled into her pillow and tried to swat Pansy away with her hand.

"No, now. We need to go or we'll miss the train," she persisted. Aurelia mumbled something incoherent and stood up with a loud groan. Within the hour, she was all ready to leave for King's Cross.

"Feeling alright, Reli?" her father asked when they had Apparated to platform 9 ¾. She nodded in response.

"OK, good luck on your exams. Don't worry, you'll do just fine. And Draco," he added turning to the blond. "Do look after her, won't you? And try to help her master her Occlumency and Legilimency, she hasn't made much progress these past couple of weeks."

"Thanks dad," Aurelia mumbled angrily.

"Stay out of trouble, get plenty of rest, don't overwork yourself and have fun," he finished, kissing his daughter's forehead. Pansy, Aurelia and Draco turned away with a final goodbye and boarded the scarlet steam engine train back to Hogwarts.

The train ride there seemed a lot faster than Aurelia remembered them to be. Maybe it was because she slept nearly the entire way. Her Easter Holiday was as far from a holiday as it could have possibly been. She was more tired coming back to school than she was leaving it.

No one, not even Draco, was able to life her mood at this point. She looked like a wreck. For the next few days she had very little on her mind except studying and training. Draco had, regrettably, not forgotten what Dillard had asked of him. He made her wake up extra early in the morning so that they could practice Occlumency. Aurelia was beginning to feel worried that she wouldn't be any good at Legilimency at all because the focus was steered well away from it. Apparently, Draco had already mastered that skill because his father raised him on it. Insufferable little git.

After her vigorous morning training that left her brain as fried as the breakfast she refused to eat, Aurelia reported to classes. Pansy and Draco had been right, the teachers did give her make up work. Though this should have been a comfort for Aurelia, it wasn't. It just mean there was more to do and more to stress about.

On the sixth day of her return to Hogwarts, though Aurelia could have sworn it was at least a month, she wasn't wakened in the early hours of dusk. She proceeded to breakfast with Pansy--having the appetite to finally eat it--and looked around for Draco curiously. Draco wasn't in a single one of their morning classes, nor was he at lunch. He wasn't at a single one of their evening classes nor was he at dinner. Aurelia began to worry where he had gotten off to all day and decided to check his Dormitory, maybe he was sick.

"Draco," she knocked on the door once. "Are you in there?"

"He could be sleeping," Pansy supplied.

"Draco," she knocked again. "Can we come in?"

"Just go, he's probably asleep." Aurelia agreed with her after a third knock and pushed open the door to the seventh year boys' dormitory. Draco was no where to be found and as Aurelia walked over to his bed (knowing all too well where it was) she noticed a note.

"What's it say?" Pansy leaned over Aurelia's shoulder.

"Dear Aurelia," she began reading. "Sorry I couldn't make training. I had to leave last night but you were already asleep so I couldn't tell you. I'll be back tomorrow morning. I had something to do for _him_. Draco."

"For him?" Pansy cocked an eyebrow, taking the note into her own hands. "Does he mean You-Know-Who?"

"Most likely," Aurelia shrugged and left the Dormitory with Pansy right behind her.

"Oi, what were you two doing in our Dormitory?" Blaise Zabini asked as he saw us coming out of his room.

"Setting Dungbombs off in your bed," Aurelia replied casually and pushed past him. Zabini rushed into his Dormitory with immense speed. Aurelia chuckled lightly to herself and bid Pansy a goodnight before retreating to bed.

.

"Draco, let's go, they know we're here," Lucius' frantic voice called from the doorway.

"Coming," Draco nodded and snatched up the piece of golden glimmer before running out of the room.

"There they are!" a gruff voice called from the other end of the corridor and Draco was quick to retrieve his wand from his robe pocket.

"_Stupefy_!" the gruff voice yelled. Lucius just barely managed to dodge the jet of red light.

"_Avada Kedavra!" _he yelled but a well-placed tripping jinx made Lucius stumble and the curse fly off towards the ceiling.

"_Stupefy_!" a new man yelled. There seemed to be more of them coming in every which way.

"_Protego_!" Draco countered, allowing his father time to get back on his feet.

"What the bloody hell was that?" a third man said. Draco had just remembered the Disillusionment Charm that was placed upon him. He wondered why his father's had faded.

"There's someone there with him," the first, gruff voice called out and sent a Stunning Spell in Draco's direction but missed.

"We're never going to get out of here," Draco said to his dad. "_Protego_!"

"Yes we will. _Avada Kedavra_!" one of the men fell to the floor as a jet of green light hit him.

"_Reducto_!" Draco yelled loudly and clearly as he pointed his wand to the ceiling which crumbled and fell onto the group of men advancing toward them.

"Well done," Lucius growled and stepped forward cautiously.

"How do we get out now?" Draco asked.

"Simple," he said and pointed his wand at the rubble. "_Reducto_!"

The large pieces of concrete burst and scattered away in a cloud of dust. The bodies of Aurors were no where to be found. Draco had a sickening feeling in his stomach as to what happened to them.

"Dad, your Disillusionment Charm," Draco reminded him.

"Right, well hurry up then," he said quickly, his eyes darting in every direction, looking for attackers. Just as the charm was cast, a new group of Aurors were sprinting towards them. Draco and Lucius ducked behind a tapestry, knowing that the Charms would do them little good if they got too close. Once the group had passed Draco and Lucius, the two latter stepped into the now-deserted corridor and proceeded stealthily to a door just down the hall. They stepped into the empty office and quickly located the fireplace.

"You go first," Lucius nodded towards to the fireplace and Draco walked over to take a handful of floo powder.

"_Incendio_!" he lit a fire and threw his floo powder into it, making the flames dance in a brilliant emerald colour. He stepped into the fireplace, careful not to hit his head on the mantle, and said clearly, "Malfoy Manor."

_._

"You know, I had the strangest dream last night," Aurelia mused as she stood by the sink in the bathroom the next morning. Pansy was still brushing her teeth.

"You don't say," she answered once she had spit toothpaste out of her mouth. "What was it about?"

"I have absolutely no idea," she shrugged. "It gave me a funny feeling though. Like last time."

"Last time?" she asked, wiping her mouth with a towel.

"Yeah, you know, a few months ago when I told you I kept having these weird dreams but I could never remember them only that they gave me a funny feeling," she reminded her.

"Oh yeah," Pansy nodded.

"I wonder if Draco is back yet," she said almost to herself and without waiting for an answer from Pansy, walked to the Boys' Dorm.

"Draco?" she called as she knocked on the door. Theodore Nott opened the door and looked Aurelia up and down before replying.

"He's not here."

"Oh," she said plainly and left, hearing the door close behind her as she walked away.

"Well?" Pansy looked up from inside her school bag on the Common Room couch.

"Not there," Aurelia said plainly. "Probably running late. Breakfast?"

The two grabbed their school bags and walked to breakfast, talking about something Aurelia couldn't remember because she was too busy thinking about why Draco hadn't come back yet.

Aurelia realized that he wasn't running late at all. He never came back that day. It was well after dinner, when everyone had gone to bed that Aurelia finally spoke to Pansy for the first time since breakfast.

"He's not coming back, is he?"

"What?" she asked, startled that Aurelia was speaking. "Of course he is."

"No," she shook her head.

"Aurelia, you just need a good rest. He'll be back tomorrow and everything will be fine," she assured her and closed her copy of _Witch Weekly_. "Let's go to bed."

"You go," she waved her hand. "I'm going to stay and wait a little longer."

Pansy didn't question or urge her anymore before retreating to the Girls' Dormitory. Aurelia sat for five minutes, simply staring idly at the fireplace. When she became too anxious to sit still, Aurelia pulled out her Potions book and began working on the essay due that Thursday. Half-way through the essay, Aurelia was finding it hard to keep her eyes open and decided to retire to bed. After packing up her books and sitting in hope for an extra minute, Aurelia slumped her way to the Girl's Dormitory.

The next morning, the first thing on Aurelia's mind was Draco and so, before she even bothered to get dressed, she sprinted to the Boys' Dormitory. Everyone in there groaned loudly as she woke them up with her insane knocking. It was Vincent Crabbe that opened the door this time.

"Is Draco here?" Aurelia gasped between breaths.

"No," he grunted stupidly. Aurelia could tell he had been sleeping. Without replying, she stomped angrily back to her own room.

"He's not back!" she yelled and caused several of her room-mates to jump.

"Who's not back?" Pansy yawned.

"Three guesses," she hissed.

"Maybe he's using the toilet," she said sleepily as she rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Unlikely," she grumbled and went off to get ready for the day ahead.

Every day for the next few were exactly like this. Every morning she would wake up unnaturally early and wake the boys. Someone would open the door and sleepily tell her that Draco wasn't there. Then, she would run into her own Dormitory to tell Pansy that he wasn't there, waking all of her room-mates in the process. At breakfast, lunch and dinner, she would sit, scanning the Great Hall for any sign of Draco. There never was any. Every class she would only be half-listening to the teacher and curse herself afterwards because she knew N.E.W.Ts were nearing and listening in class was crucial. Every evening she would sit in the Common Room, pouring herself out over her ridiculous amounts of homework long after everyone had gone to sleep, desperately hoping that Draco would show up alive and well. Every night Pansy would continue to tell her that he would be back in the morning and everything would be fine.

"It's been nearly a week," Aurelia pointed out feebly as she and Pansy were walking to the dungeons after lunch to enjoy their Friday afternoon.

"I know," she nodded. "He'll be back, don't worry."

"You've been telling me that every day and he doesn't seem to be back, does he?" she asked angrily.

"You know, all of this stress is kind of bad for the baby," Pansy pointed out.

"Oh sure," Aurelia sighed sarcastically. "Let's bring my fatness into this."

"You're not fat."

"I'm fatter," she said. "And once people start to notice, my life will be hell."

"I'm sure they'll understand," Pansy tried.

"You live in a dream world," she said dryly.

Aurelia and Pansy didn't exactly "relax" on their Friday afternoon. Instead, like most of the fifth and seventh years, they sat in the Common Room doing homework.

"I'm missing an ingredient for my Shrinking Potion," Pansy announced as they were doing their work. Aurelia glanced at her paper.

"Leech juice," she answered, not really paying attention to the task at hand.

"Aurelia," Pansy sighed, setting her essay aside. "You have to relax. Draco is fine."

"If you say so," she said, opening her Transfiguration book. As she flipped through the pages, a small piece of parchment fell out.

**You're cute when you concentrate.  
**_Leave me alone, Draco._**  
Why?  
**_Because I'm trying to pay attention. N.E.W.Ts, remember?  
_**Aren't for months.  
**_Ignoring you._

Aurelia shut her Transfiguration book angrily and threw it aside. She missed sitting next Draco in that class. She missed sitting next to Draco at meals. She missed sitting next to Draco in the Common Room. She missed Draco, period.

"I'm going to sleep," Pansy yawned, packing her books up. Aurelia looked around the Common Room to find it deserted.

"Alright, see you in the morning," Aurelia nodded. Pansy looked at Aurelia for a moment as if hoping she would suddenly decide to come along. After realizing that it was out of the question, she stood with her books and disappeared through the passageway to the Girls' Dormitory.

Aurelia let out a deep sigh and straightened her back, leaning her head over the edge of the sofa. She didn't want to sleep because she wanted to wait for Draco to return, just like she did every night. Also, she knew that if she fell asleep the weird, unexplainable dreams she never remembered would return to her just like they had every night of that week and leave her with the same ominous feeling as they did every morning afterwards.

He was dead. She knew it. There was no way he had been "running late" for four days. The only thing that worried her was why he was dead. She didn't know what happened to him because no one had bothered to tell her. Everyone knew they were dating so why had nobody bothered to at least owl her to say that her boyfriend was dead? She wondered if maybe no one knew yet. If maybe his body was laying lifeless in an alley somewhere or a muggle Police station. No muggle would know him because to them, Draco Malfoy didn't even exist. She felt tears forming in her eyes. She knew there was no hope but it didn't matter. She would stay up like this every night for the rest of her life if she had to. She would, under no circumstances, come to terms with the fact that Draco was dead until she saw it for herself.

As Aurelia was idly thinking these thoughts, there was a loud clatter of a stumbling figure coming in through the Common Room entrance. Aurelia turned around, a little startled, to see none other than Draco Malfoy clambering into the room. She gasped at the sight of him. He was covered in bruises and blood. There was a large gash on his eyebrow and his leg was bleeding severely. Without even thinking about the pain her actions would inflict, she jumped from the couch, tears now streaming down her cheeks, and launched herself at Draco who had to clutch the side of a chair to keep from falling. She could feel him wince from the pain but he didn't pull away as Aurelia clung to him, crying desperately into his shoulder.

"I don't think I've ever seen you cry," he joked feebly, his voice dry and cracking. As a response, Aurelia let out an even louder sob mixed with a small chuckle and kissed Draco fervently. Draco carefully pulled her off him and walked over to the couch where he sat with a loud groan.

"Where have you been?" Aurelia asked, wiping the tears from her eyes. She didn't care that every wall she had ever built around herself had now been torn down. She didn't care that even though she'd tried for years to act the way she knew she was supposed to and never cry in front of someone, she was suddenly doing it now. She knew it showed weakness and weakness was dangerous but she didn't care. Crying wasn't her weakness, Draco was.

"It's a very long story," Draco said.

"Please tell me," she insisted as she pulled out her wand.

"It started with a letter from dad," he began and flinched slightly as Aurelia began to clean the wound on his leg.

"_Aguamenti_," Aurelia muttered, listening intently to Draco's story.

"He said the Dark Lord had given him a task, to go into the Ministry," he continued.

"The Ministry?"

"Yes, he--ow!"

"Sorry. _Accio Towel._"

"He wanted some information for what they're doing in there," he flinched slightly as Aurelia began dabbing at the wound with the towel she summoned from the bathroom. "Also, he said that if we were to come into contact with anyone in high ranks, we were to try and Imperius them."

"And did you? _Episkey_," she said.

"No, we were caught. OW!" he yelled as Aurelia had clutched his leg tightly from shock.

"Oh, sorry," she said sheepishly, releasing him. "It's broken, I think."

"Don't worry about it," he waved off and continued. "It was pretty bad, there were Aurors everywhere once they found out there were intruders."

"_Episkey_," she said again at the broken bone. "How did you escape?"

"Well, there was actually a bit of a duel," he said.

"Just you two against Aurors?" she asked surprised.

"Yeah, only they didn't know I was there."

"What?" she cocked an eyebrow. "_Ferula_."

"Disillusionment Charm," he confirmed and Aurelia nodded as she continued on to his eyebrow cut. "Anyway, I used Reducto to make the ceiling cave in and we escaped through Floo in a nearby office."

"Brilliant," Aurelia grinned and wet the towel with her wand.

"Of course, after a rumble like that, dad and I had to lay low at--ow--home for a few days."

"So if you've been home--_Episkey_--why are you so beaten up?" she asked as she finished.

"Apparently, there's a giant in the Forbidden Forest," he laughed but Aurelia could see that he wasn't joking.

"Hagrid," Aurelia shook her head although she couldn't help but grin as well.

"I have something," Draco said quietly as he reached into the pocket of his robes. What he pulled out made Aurelia's breath get caught in her throat. "It's the original; I found it at the Ministry just before we got discovered."

Aurelia stared at the small trinket in his hands, unable to speak. So many different emotions came flooding through her. Whichever emotion it was that managed to overpower her, Aurelia wasn't sure but tears soon began falling down her face again. She watched in amazement as Draco repaired the golden object to fasten itself on the chain that still occupied its place on Aurelia's neck. She slowly fingered the small four-cornered star before kissing Draco on the lips so much that she was afraid it might hurt him. If there was any pain, he didn't show it.

"Thank you, so much," she whispered into the crook of his neck.

**A/N: Once again, sorry times a million for not getting this out yesterday. However, it was pretty long. So I guess that made up for it. Erm, I hope you liked this. It didn't seem like much because I made Draco disappear and come back within the same chapter. But, Draco disappearing wasn't the point. The point was the change in Aurelia's character and the four-cornered star. Yes, I'm not finished with that just yet. OK, well I hope you enjoyed this even though it was late. Once more, I'm really sorry for pulling a WB on you guys (haha) but at least I didn't make you wait 11 months for it (haha again).**

**Reviews are spectacular. Love it? Hate it? I wanna hear them all. Please and thank you :)**


	22. Returned Trinkets

**-21-  
**Returned Trinkets, Brilliant Plans and Extra Training

* * *

**Summary:** She barely even knew him. Draco Malfoy was just one of those kids she passed in the halls between classes or asked to borrow a piece of parchment from when she had none. Thanks to the Dark Lord, however, Aurelia Finn and Draco Malfoy will soon find out they have a little more than just age and house in common. And maybe a little bit greater of a task than just "that Charms essay due next period" under way.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except my made up character and plot. J.K Rowling owns all else.  
**Warnings:** Sexual Situations, Violence, Character Death, Substance Use/ Abuse, Adult Language, Book 7 Disregarded, Book 6 Events Slightly Altered  
**A/N: **Woah, sorry I took all day (to my European readers, anyway). I have three things to blame it on. _Twilight _(or technically _New Moon_ as I am on the second book), _The Moaning Myrtles _and _The Parselmouths. _Yes, I spent most of my day listening to those two bands. I got really hooked on the MM's song "Cedric". The Edward Cullen references...ANYWAY! Getting off track. Enjoy the chapter, I'm off to read _New Moon_. :)

* * *

They both stayed there like that, on the couch, wrapped in each other's arms. Aurelia woke in the early hours of the morning when she felt Draco stir beside her.

"I'm sorry," he whispered sincerely in her ear. Before Aurelia was able to ask what he was sorry for, Draco had already stood up and was making his way to his Dormitory. Aurelia let out a deep sigh and slumped herself to her own dorm.

"Guess what happened last night?" she jumped onto Pansy's bed which still held her sleeping figure. Aurelia had an obscenely higher amount of energy all of a sudden.

"I give up," Pansy croaked sleepily.

"Draco came back!"

"No way," Pansy shot up in bed. "Where had he been?"

"Erm…I'll tell you later," she promised, looking around to her waking room-mates.

Aurelia got dressed and showered in record time. She was ready to leave for breakfast before most of her entire house. She waited patiently in the Common Room for Draco and Pansy, absolutely giddy about the past night's events. When they both appeared in the Common Room, Aurelia greeted Draco with a kiss and gave Pansy an "I told you so" look. After that, they all went to breakfast, a little too early.

"Oh," Draco furrowed his eyebrows as he looked through his school bag at the breakfast table. "I forgot my Potions book, be right back."

"Don't disappear again," Aurelia joked but Draco caught the seriousness behind her smile. He kissed her gently and left the Great Hall. Aurelia followed him out with her eyes, the pleasant smile not leaving her face.

"I didn't have another one of those weird dreams tonight," she pointed out to Pansy.

"Really?" she asked and Aurelia nodded. "Well, maybe it's just because Draco's back."

"Maybe, except that last time I was with Draco when I had the dreams," she shrugged.

"I see you have your necklace back, maybe that's it," she laughed. "You have undying affection for it."

"Funny," Aurelia said sarcastically but something in the back of her mind kept telling her that maybe there was a little bit of truth in Pansy's words.

Aurelia ate the rest of her breakfast in silence, contemplating the thought that was passing through her mind. And though she couldn't quite grasp its concept, she knew that she might be right.

"What are you writing?" Draco asked in the Library after breakfast.

"A letter to my father," Aurelia said plainly and begged inside her mind that Draco wouldn't press the matter. Thankfully, he didn't. Aurelia sighed loudly when she was finished and seemed to have disturbed the frustrated concentration of Pansy.

"Remind me again," she said irritably. "Why are we spending our Saturday in the library?"

"N.E.W.Ts," Aurelia said impatiently, showing that the answer should have been obvious.

"You're over working yourself, Aurelia. This isn't good," Draco pointed out.

"I'm fine, thanks."

The remainder of their time was spent in silence with nothing except for the scratching of quills and rustling of parchment to break it. When the bell finally rang to announce lunch, Aurelia tried to ignore her throbbing hand as she sprinted out of the room. She was sure she could hear Draco calling her name but she chose to ignore it. When she reached the Owlery, she didn't hesitate to pick a brown owl down from the shelf. Before tying the letter to the owl's leg, she decided to read it over.

_Dad,_

_There are a lot of questions mulling themselves over in my mind right now so I'm not sure where to begin. This is about my necklace. I want to know if there's anything, er, peculiar about it. Anything special._

_The thing is, that the only time I have ever been separated from it was when I lost it at the Three Broomsticks a few months back. Well, that time when I did, I had these strange dreams. I could never remember what they were about the next morning. I was sure that I had dreamt _something_ but I couldn't remember what. I had a really weird feeling about it the next morning, though. It was almost ominous._

_Well, I'm sure you heard about the…incident. Point is, Draco returned my necklace to me. Ever since the day he went _there_ and everyday until he came back and gave me my necklace, I had the dreams again. The dreams that I couldn't remember or explain but felt uneasy from._

_Maybe it's just my imagination but is there a connection? I'm sorry if this isn't making much sense. It's difficult to explain. Write back soon._

_Love,  
Aurelia._

That day, as Aurelia, Pansy and Draco were lounging comfortably on the grounds, doing their homework, Professor McGonagall came up to them. She's a lot more direct with her students than Dumbledore was, Aurelia noted.

"Ah, you three," said McGonagall just as she spotted them. "The funeral for Issac Roberts is tomorrow afternoon. I know you three were his best friends. You may attend if you wish. I will excuse you from school and it is a Sunday, after all."

"No, thank you Professor," Aurelia said rather quickly, her tone harsh. "We have N.E.W.Ts to study for."

"And, it's just too sad," Pansy added when she saw McGonagall's suspicious look.

"Very well," she said and left with a curt nod.

"Somebody needs to learn self-control," Draco said in a sing-song voice when McGonagall left. Aurelia scowled.

That was probably the last time they relaxed for the remainder of the weekend. Every minute, every second, of their time was devoted to homework and studying. It was frightening to think that it was already April. The teachers were in a frenzy to get as much material down their throats as they possibly could. It was always "this might be on your N.E.W.Ts" and "you never know if it'll come up in testing". Weekends? The students didn't even know that meaning of the word anymore. So, after an extremely difficult two days filled with stress, anticipation, stress, studying, stress, tiredness, and a little bit more stress, Monday morning came, bringing Aurelia's response along with it.

"Yes!" Aurelia cheered as a brown owl landed in front of her with a letter tied to its leg.

"Were you expecting a letter?" Pansy raised her eyebrows.

"Erm, my dad," Aurelia blushed as she tore the envelope open.

_Aurelia,_

_I don't know where to begin. I somewhat hoped it would never come to this. The truth is, that you're right. There is a connection. I never really told you about it because I didn't know that it would ever need to matter and, frankly, I was a little frightened of what you might do._

_Well, here it is. Now, remember, I don't exactly know much on the subject so I'll tell you what my father told me when I was your age._

_That star has been passed down from generation to generation for centuries. No one really knows when the tradition began. Our family goes as far back as the name Edewyn in the late fifteenth century but no one is sure what happened before them. The star holds a kind of deep magic. This ancient magic only works for the proper heir of the object which, my father believes, is how it managed to stay in the bloodline for so long._

_There isn't much I understand about it. One thing is certain, when the proper owner is separated from the star, it's almost as though the thing has a mind of it's own. It's difficult to explain. You can subconsciously use Legilimency to see into it without realizing you can. By means of a dream. This, I'm told, only works if another is in possession of the star. So, say you lost it while you were swimming in a lake. Well, unless it's found by merpeople, you won't ever be able to find it again, most likely. Now, say it was stolen. What will happen is a strange connection will form between you and the star. You will be able to see exactly what is happening to the person in possession of it._

_The only catch is, if you're not practised in Legilimency, it won't work very well. You'll have dreams about it, only, you won't ever be able to remember them because your mind won't have the ability to hold onto the images. It's not as though you'll wake up thinking that you had a dreamless sleep, you just won't be able to remember what you dreamed about. It's a little different that using Legilimency to see into the human mind. There are a few ways it won't work properly, not remembering if you're not practiced in Legilimency is one of them. The rest, I'm not aware of but my father told me there is more._

_That's about as much as I can tell you. I hope it helped. Please don't do anything rash. It's best to just forget about this._

_Love always,  
Dad._

Aurelia's smile continued to widen as each sentence went on. Ignoring the very last bit--the warning--of her father's letter, she turned to Draco. She didn't say anything, instead she continued to stare at him with a large grin until he felt her eyes burning holes in his skull.

"Erm," he hesitated. "Yes, Aurelia?

"I have something to tell you," she said with the same smile that was suddenly turning mischievous, a plan formulating in her mind.

"Would you like to do it somewhere that's not here?" he suggested when she didn't continue. Aurelia nodded, the grin widening. Draco sighed dramatically and got up from the table to follow Aurelia out of the Great Hall.

"Well?" Draco asked once they were in the Entrance Hall. Aurelia proceeded to tell him of the brilliant plan that she had thought of as they walked to the dungeons for Potions.

"I hope you realize how much more stress this is going to put on you," Draco pointed out. Aurelia had finished explaining and they were now taking their seats in class.

"I don't care," she shook her head. "This is important. Not to mention brilliant. Am I right or am I right?"

"Do I have a third option?" he sighed. Aurelia hit him on the arm.

"Everyone, please pass your essays to the front," came Slughorn's uncharacteristically flat voice.

"Just trust me on this," Aurelia whispered, handing her essay to the girl in front of her.

As Slughorn continued his talk about the essay and the lesson, Aurelia couldn't help but not pay attention. She was feeling so excited about it all. Everything was working out. With these pleasant thoughts swirling around in her mind, Aurelia let out a deep sigh which seemed to catch Slughorn's attention.

"Miss Finn," he called as though seeing her for the first time. "What is the exact counter-opposite of a Shrinking Solution?"

"An Ageing Potion," Aurelia almost yawned.

"Correct, 5 points to Slytherin," he beamed. "Now, since I have your essays on the Shrinking Solutions, we will begin work on the Ageing Potion. Today, we will start by taking a few notes."

"That's a _few_?" Aurelia gaped at the mass of information on the blackboard. She heard Draco chuckle beside her as he took out his quill.

When the class was over, Pansy and Draco walked out of the room with Aurelia, talking in grumpy tones about the essay Slughorn had assigned.

"We had _days_ for the last one! Now he expects them _next class_?" Pansy complained.

"Isn't next class tomorrow?" Draco raised an eyebrow.

"Bingo," Aurelia grumbled.

"So, Aurelia, tonight?" he asked in a suggestive voice, wiggling his eyebrows. At first, Aurelia didn't understand what he was talking about. Suddenly, it dawned on her.

"Tonight," she confirmed with a wink.

"Gross," Pansy muttered under her breath, causing Aurelia to laugh loudly.

"You didn't seem to mind when it was you and me a few years ago, Pansy," Draco smirked.

"You were attractive then," she replied with a hint of playfulness in her frustrated voice. Draco pretended to wince in pain as he clutched his heart. This only made Aurelia laugh harder.

Just as it was mutually decided between Draco and Aurelia, they tried to evade Pansy's presence after dinner. She didn't hesitate in letting them go wherever they wanted to go, alone.

"Are you sure they won't mind?" Aurelia asked as she watched Draco pace back and forth, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

"I'm positive," he answered finally when a door materialized.

"If you say so," Aurelia shrugged and stepped into the cool passageway. "_Lumos._"

"I do say so, _Lumos_," he smirked and walked down the tunnel until they hit an end. Once again ignoring the protesting shop keeper, Draco and Aurelia walked into the Hogsmeade street and Disapparated.

"Shouldn't you knock?" Aurelia asked as Draco began turning the door handle.

"No, it's my house," he said as he stepped over the threshold and into the Malfoy Manor.

"Are they home?"

"Dad! Mum!" he called into the depths of the house. Soon, footsteps could be heard approaching.

"What are you doing out of school?" Lucius widened his eyes.

"Aurelia has something important to discuss," he said and so the conversation and planning began. Aurelia explained to them the qualities her necklace possessed and her immediate plan for the Dark Lord's benefit. Meanwhile, Narcissa was absolutely _gushing_ over their presence. "Would you like some tea?" she would say. "You can stay, if you'd like." she would insist. Or, Aurelia's favourite, "So how are you and Draco in the bedroom department?" Aurelia swore she saw Draco blush as he mumbled at his mother to stop.

"So, it's settled then," Lucius announced when they were all finished. "Draco will train you at school and you will come here on the weekends where I will train you myself."

"Yes, sir," Aurelia said so enthusiastically that she surprised even herself.

"Very well," he agree, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Oh, and Mr. Malfoy?" Aurelia added. "I would appreciate if you didn't tell my father about this. He told me not to do anything…rash."

"Not a problem," he nodded. With that, Aurelia said goodbye to Lucius and Narcissa ("Do come back soon, we have a guest room right next to Draco's room so we'd never know which one you slept in.") and were on their way back to school.

"Your mum is…nice," Aurelia tried to hold back laughter during the walk back through the tunnel.

"Shut up," Draco mumbled and once again, Aurelia could have sworn she saw his cheeks flush. She giggled. "You think that's funny, do you?"

"No," she bit her lip.

"Alright then," he said playfully and pushed Aurelia up against the wall. The door was just a few steps away but something told her they weren't going to make it that far. All within a second, the wall that she wasn't being pushed against began to move back, expanding the space into a room. Just as Draco pressed his lips to hers, a bed formulated in the centre. And so, the fun began.

**A/N: Hm, another short chapter. I'm disappointed in myself. Oh well, it wasn't that bad. So, what's Aurelia's brilliant plan? How is she using the new found powers of her family's heirloom to help the Dark Lord? Looks like you'll have to keep reading to find out! :D**

**Oh, by the way, **_**reviews are splendid.**_


	23. Extra Training

**-22-  
**Extra Training, Distant Behaviour and Added Stress

* * *

**Summary:** She barely even knew him. Draco Malfoy was just one of those kids she passed in the halls between classes or asked to borrow a piece of parchment from when she had none. Thanks to the Dark Lord, however, Aurelia Finn and Draco Malfoy will soon find out they have a little more than just age and house in common. And maybe a little bit greater of a task than just "that Charms essay due next period" underway.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except my made up character and plot. J.K Rowling owns all else.  
**Warnings:** Sexual Situations, Violence, Character Death, Substance Use/ Abuse, Adult Language, Book 7 Disregarded, Book 6 Events Slightly Altered  
**A/N: **Just one announcement for my Author's Note today. Yesterday, 22 August, Percy Weasley celebrated his 32nd birthday. So, Happy Belated Birthday Percy!

* * *

Aurelia walked down the crowded corridors of Hogwarts, her right hand holding her stomach and her left entwined with Draco's. A blush was creeping up on her cheek's as Draco kissed one of them sweetly.

"You really don't have to carry my books for me," Aurelia said, gesturing to the second messenger bag on Draco's shoulder. "They must be awfully heavy."

"Which is exactly why I have to," he said smugly.

"I think I liked you better when you _weren't_ such a gentleman," Aurelia joked, Draco stuck out his tongue.

As the two walked, Aurelia noticed a pair of Ravenclaws, sixth years by the look of them, whispering hurriedly to each other. At first, Aurelia paid them no mind, that is, until she realized it was her they were talking about. She couldn't tell what they were saying but they kept looking down the corridor towards her. As soon as Aurelia was in hearing distance, they stopped talking and simply glared. Aurelia didn't pay any attention to the two redheads and simply continued on her way to class. It wasn't until the one with pale skin let out a fake cough that sounded oddly like the word "whore" as Aurelia passed that she stopped dead in her tracks.

"I _beg_ your pardon?" Aurelia said coldly, turning to the pair.

"Do you hear something, Crystal?" the girl with pale skin asked her friend.

"No, I don't speak slut," Crystal sneered and looked at Aurelia as she did so. Aurelia felt Draco stiffen next to her and begin to advance on the two girls. Aurelia pulled her hand out of Draco's grasp and held it against his chest.

"Don't," she whispered to him out of the corner of her mouth, not taking her gaze away from the Ravenclaws.

"So tell me, who is the father?" Crystal asked Aurelia." Or fathers."

"Excuse me?" Aurelia asked, her voice shaking with anger.

"Well, according to--"

"--Everyone," the pale skinned girl supplied.

"It's at least three different guys who impregnated you," Crystal finished smugly. "So who are they?"

"I am," Draco stepped forward, ignore Aurelia's tug on his sleeve. "The one and the only. Aurelia happens to be my fiancé and this _baby_" he stressed the word. "Is mine and without accident."

Aurelia tried to hide the look of astonishment on her face. The two Ravenclaw girls had that look too but their eyes quickly flickered to Aurelia's finger.

"I don't see a ring," Crystal stated. "Do you, Anna?"

"No ring," Anna agreed.

"I'm having it engraved," Draco said through gritted teeth, clenching his fists with his wand in one of them.

"Really?" Crystal raised her eyebrows in mock surprise. "What it going to say? To Aurelia m--"

No one ever did find out what it was Crystal wanted to say the ring inscription might be because before she could, she was on the ground, crying out in pain and clutching her face with her hands. Draco's wand was extended out to the place where Crystal's head was just mere seconds ago, his eyes burning with fury.

"What did you do to her!" Anna yelled, kneeling besides her crouching friend. At that moment, Crystal stood up and clearly etched on her forehead, with droplets of blood making their way down her cheeks, was the word "whore". Aurelia had not noticed that their argument had drawn a crowd until people around her started laughing except for a few Ravenclaws that looked absolutely appalled.

"Draco, you should not have done that!" Aurelia scolded publicly, trying rather hard to suppress a grin.

"C'mon, we're going to be late for class," he replied with a wink.

Surprisingly enough, no one said anything to Aurelia about her pregnancy after that. Not to her face, anyway. Meanwhile, N.E.W.Ts were growing ever closer. It was insane to imagine that the Slytherin Common Room was the same place the students used to go to for relaxation because now it seemed like a second library. As if they didn't spend enough time in the library already.

"Draco is really protective over you lately," Pansy noted about two minutes after she had finished watching retreating figure. Draco had volunteered to run up to the library and check out a few books Aurelia needed for her homework.

"He is," Aurelia nodded in agreement. "I guess it's a nice gesture; shows he cares. It's just this baby. He's always making sure I'm okay, for it's sake. Always making sure not a single person is talking badly about me because of it."

"He's doing you a favour," Pansy said.

"Sometimes I think he forgets the kid really isn't his," Aurelia shook her head with a smile. "This morning he referred to it as 'little Draco junior'. It's maddening."

"I think he was just doing it in case someone was listening."

"We were completely alone."

"Oh," Pansy furrowed her eyebrows. Aurelia sighed.

"No, you're right. I think he just got a little used to making sure he acts like it's his."

"What's who's?" Daphne Greengrass asked, walking up behind them.

"Erm…Draco," Aurelia confirmed. "He's keeping an eye on something for me and he's supposed to pretend it belongs to him. What have you got there, Daphne?"

"Oh, this?" she asked picking up the long piece of parchment Daphne held in her hand. "This is a party invite list."

"For…what?"

"My party," she beamed.

"Obviously."

"I'm throwing one this coming weekend for the fifth, sixth and seventh years," she smiled.

"Don't you think it's a little too close to exams to throw a party?"

"Exactly," she nodded as if it should have been obvious. "Everyone's studying too hard. Fifth years and their O.W.Ls, us with our N.E.W.Ts, and the sixth years…er, are somewhere in between. Anyway, we could all use a break."

"I don't know," Pansy shook her head.

"What are we talking about?" Draco asked rather cheerfully as he joined them with a large load of books in his hand. Somehow, Aurelia was surprised the library still had books left.

"Throwing a party," Daphne said happily.

"Brilliant," he grinned. "I'm in."

"Good! Aurelia? Pansy?" Daphne turned to the girls.

"Will there be _alcohol_ at this party?" Aurelia asked slowly.

"You bet! Nothing but!" Aurelia frowned. "Oh, right. Sorry, Reli. I'll make sure there's pumpkin juice."

"Won't be pumpkin juice all night," Aurelia muttered under her breath then added a little more loudly, "I'll see. Maybe."

"Same for me," Pansy agreed.

"Fabulous!" Daphne giggled and hopped away.

"Draco," Aurelia growled angrily. "_Why_ did you accept that invitation?"

"Why not!"

"Training, remember?"

"_Your_ training. Not mine."

"You're not _going_ with me anymore?"

"I am."

"That party is this weekend!"

"I know."

"Draco!"

"Look," he sighed. "I'm sure that my father won't mind if you miss _one day_ to have a little bit of fun."

"Did you ever think that maybe I would mind? That maybe _he_ would mind?"

"_He_ doesn't have to know."

"But he will."

"You worry too much," Draco waved his hand dismissively.

"Well, one of us has to," Aurelia retorted bitterly.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that I'm tired of being the adult in this relationship, Draco! You need to realize that we're not kids anymore! We can't just leave the world behind and go party because we feel like it! We have responsibilities now!"

"I know that but can't we have just one day to relax?"

"No!"

"Erm, I'm going to go to the library," Pansy said meekly. "Later guys."

"And why not!?" Draco continued, neither of them noticing that their best friend had now left.

"Did you not just hear the responsibility speech?!"

"Okay, well I'm sorry if I don't exactly enjoy being this so called 'adult'! I'm sure there's a little more to it, Aurelia. I'm sure that we are still allowed to have lives!"

"Yes, Draco. We _are_. But that doesn't mean that we can throw things away just because we haven't had fun in a while. When we have free time, we can have fun. Right now, we have responsibilities coming out of our arses, Draco!"

"Like what!"

"Are you joking?! Like N.E.W.Ts, for one! Training, for another! Have you completely forgotten about everything we're trying to do here?!"

"I'm sure that you're not going to completely lose nearly a three weeks' worth of work in Legilimency and nearly two terms' worth of studying during the course of _one evening_, Aurelia."

"I'm not saying I will! I'm just saying that ever second counts as of right now, Draco."

"You're overreacting," he said softly and began opening his book.

"I am not overreacting, Malfoy!" she yelled. Draco's head shot up. The last time Aurelia had called him Malfoy, they didn't speak for two weeks afterwards.

"Aurelia, relax," he began.

"Don't tell me to relax! I'm tired of this! I'm tired of always having to be the mature one! I've got enough on my plate without having to watch out for everything you do! Even Pansy had enough sense not to except that party and she has about half of the responsibilities you do! Not to mention half of the attention span!" Aurelia stood up from her place on the Common Room floor. "I think that _maybe_ you need to think about this for a while."

Draco wanted to protest. He wanted to apologize because he knew where this argument had lead but he couldn't because by the time he regained control of his voice, Aurelia was already gone through the passage to the her dormitory. At this point, Draco looked around and realized everyone was listening.

"Don't you all have better things to do," he barked and everyone immediately returned to their previous activities.

Aurelia stomped angrily into her room and slammed the door shut behind her. She sat on her bed, muttering angrily under her breath.

"Stupid git. Immature. Irresponsible. Stupid."

"Aurelia?" Pansy poked her head into the room. "Can I come in?"

"Your room, too," she mumbled, not looking up from her left shoe which she was unsuccessfully trying to remove from her foot.

"Are you okay?" Pansy asked, watching Aurelia struggle with the laces.

"No," she mumbled and finally got her foot free.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," she answered gruffly. "Going to bed."

Ignoring Pansy's sigh, Aurelia pulled the curtains of her four-poster around her and tried to go to sleep. This task, however, took her a few hours, at the least, making her even more infuriated. Eventually, her insane mumbling put her sleep like counting sheep.

Aurelia was awakened next morning by the sound of her roommates shuffling around to get ready for classes. She peeked lazily out of the side of her curtains and saw bright light streaming in through the windows. Aurelia's eyes widened so much they looked as though they might pop out of her head.

"What time is it!" she screamed, jumping out of bed. All the girls in her dormitory nearly jumped out of their skin from being startled by Aurelia's sudden outburst.

"I don't know," Pansy began cautiously. "I'd say about an hour or so before class."

"WHAT!"

"Aurelia, what's wrong?"

"Why didn't you wake me for training!?" she shrieked.

"Oh, well I figured you didn't want to go."

"AM I THE ONLY ONE THAT HEARD MYSELF MAKE THE RESPONSIBILITY SPEECH LAST NIGHT?!"

"No," Pansy shook her head with a light laugh. "I'm pretty sure the entire of Slytherin house heard that one."

"THEN WHY WOULD YOU THINK I WOULDN'T GO TO TRAINING?!"

"Erm, I thought you were mad at Draco," Pansy defended.

"PANSY I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" Aurelia cried. Slowly, she began to compose herself. "Look, tell Malfoy that I will be meeting him in the Common Room at dinner to make up for today's missed session. After that, I will be meeting him in the Common Room at five o' clock in the morning for training, just like I have everyday these past few weeks. Then, on Saturday and Sunday we will both go to his Manor for training just like we've done every weekend these past few weeks. Understand?"

"Yeah, I got it," Pansy nodded and began to head out of the door.

"Oh," Aurelia added before she was gone. "By the way, I _am_ mad at him."

"Right," Pansy nodded again and left. Aurelia sighed and sat back down on her bed.

"Oh, I don't feel sick this morning," she noted happily to herself. At those exact words, her stomach rumbled and she felt something climbing up her throat. She quickly made a dash for the bathroom and just barely made it to a toilet before the inside contents of her body spilled themselves from her mouth.

"Erm" Draco hesitated as he walked into the Common Room during dinner to find Aurelia sitting impatiently in a chair. "Hi."

"Oh, you're here," she stood from her seat.

"Yeah, listen, I--"

"Last night, I got a broken reading. I don't remember a small portion. I wrote it down here. My break was when Narcissa threatened the house elf with a beating and then came back when she was changing the colour of her bedroom walls for something to do. Not sure why I got interrupted. This hasn't happened for about a week now. So, I was thinking we work for an extra half hour," Aurelia said in a very business-like tone.

"Er…alright."

"Ready?" she asked in the same nonchalance, pointing her wand at him. He nodded and so it began.

For the next hour and a half, Aurelia attempted to penetrate Draco's mind. She had been getting immensely better the past few weeks. Ever since her idea of using the necklace, which had an unusually powerful connection with Aurelia's mind, for the Dark Lord's benefit, Aurelia was bound to practice Legilimency with Draco for an hour every single morning. On the weekend, during lunch, Aurelia and Draco would sneak out to Hogsmeade via Room of Requirement and Apparate to Malfoy Manor where Aurelia would spend a few hours training with Lucius Malfoy. At this point, Aurelia was able to clearly recall her dreams. It was Narcissa who was left to be in possession of the necklace and Aurelia had to write down, in a new dream diary, what she dreamt her doing. It was never eventful. Narcissa went about her daily life. Occasionally, she would do something for Aurelia's interest such as look through old photo albums of Draco's baby pictures.

N.E.W.Ts weren't of much help for Aurelia's concentration. Right at this point they were less than three weeks away from exams and Aurelia was growing anxious. Speaking of growing, so was her stomach. It wasn't extremely large as she was only in her fifth month of the pregnancy but it was large enough to the point where she had to use the Engorgement Charm on her uniform to make it fit. Of course, after the little episode in the hallway with the Ravenclaw girls, no one dared say anything negative to Aurelia about it. But that didn't mean that no one talked about her quietly amongst themselves or glared at her as she walked by.

The most annoying part of the past few weeks was Aurelia's intent obsession for pickles. She always wanted one. At lunch, at dinner, even at breakfast. When she would go to Malfoy Manor on the weekends, instead of bringing out tea and pastries, Narcissa would bring out a plate of pickles for Aurelia to snack on. It was absolutely insane.

"Alright," she sighed. "I think we're good for today."

"Aurelia, I--"

"Goodnight, Malfoy," she said curtly and walked briskly back to her room where she spent the next few hours doing homework.

"I am really going to lose my mind," Aurelia muttered as she climbed out of bed Friday morning. She had not said more than "Hello Malfoy", "This is what I had last night", "Concentrate" and "See you in class, Malfoy" to Draco since Tuesday night. It had been a very stressful week.

"Aren't we all," Pansy mumbled sarcastically, twice as tired as Aurelia.

"Ugh, I'm gonna be sick," Aurelia groaned and rushed off to the bathroom. A minute later, Pansy was standing next to her as she puked her guts out.

"Better?" she asked when Aurelia leaned against the stall.

"Barely," she shook her head. "How much more of this _torture_?"

"Erm," Pansy put on a thoughtful face. "Seventeen years. Until the kid comes of age."

"That is definitely not funny."

"Kidding, just four more months, Reli."

"That's hardly comforting," she sighed and stood up, Pansy holding her elbow in case she called for support, though she never did.

"C'mon, you have training to get to," Pansy said and walked back the Girls' Dormitory with Aurelia where she got dressed and went to meet Draco in the Common Room.

"Hello Malfoy," Aurelia yawned.

"Good morning Aurelia," he greeted. "How are you feeling?"

"This is what I had last night," she ignored his question and thrust her dream diary at him. A new entry which she had written in the Dormitory just ten minutes ago, was opened for Draco to read.

"Sounds good," he nodded when he finished. "I guess we'll have to ask mum to be sure."

Aurelia didn't reply.

"Should we start?" he suggested. She nodded and began her training.

"Concentrate," she growled unnecessarily. He was concentrating very well, it was simply routine. Draco didn't mind, at least she said _something_ to him. When they were finished, Pansy came down the stairs with Aurelia's school bag on her right shoulder and her own school bag on the left.

"See you in class, Malfoy," Aurelia said stiffly and left the Common Room with her best friend.

"Aurelia, don't you think this has gone far enough?" Pansy pleaded as they walked up the stairs to the Great Hall.

"What?" she snapped.

"Draco didn't do anything _that_ bad to be getting the silent treatment like this," she continued. Aurelia didn't reply. "I just think that maybe you should at least let him apologize."

"Oh bugger, it's raining," Aurelia groaned, completely ignoring Pansy's attempts at mending her and Draco's relationship.

"Yeah," Pansy sighed in defeat. "Sucks."

Aurelia was barely the same person anymore. She was distant to everyone. At first, it was just to Draco but by the following week, Aurelia barely spoke at all. She said no more than the same four lines to Draco during training. When someone asked her a question she answered without feeling or inflection. Whenever she wasn't in class or at meals, she would lock herself up in her Dormitory and do homework on her bed. Everything was a huge blur around her. Either nothing was moving or everything was moving too fast, she couldn't tell which but she really didn't care. Her mind was always focused on either Legilimency or school work. She skipped the party the past Saturday and went the Malfoys' like she did every weekend. Draco didn't come with her. Narcissa and Lucius realized something was wrong but didn't say anything. Aurelia didn't care.

Her Legilimency was nearly flawless. Aurelia didn't care. Her school work was always completed on time and always had top grades. Aurelia didn't care. She didn't socialize. No one even bothered to speak with her. Even Pansy began to distance herself from Aurelia. She still woke her for her training and stood by her while she endured her morning sickness. She still sat next to her in meals and class. She still walked with her through the halls between lessons. She didn't talk to her anymore, though. She didn't try to spark up a conversation. She didn't try to get her to come out of her room. Aurelia didn't care.

Draco was the only one who continued to try but even his efforts were starting to thin. Every morning at training, he would begin to apologize but would be cut off with "Here's what I had last night". After reading the dream journal he would try again but she would remain quiet until he suggested they begin. After training, Aurelia would leave and he still would be left standing hopeless. Eventually, he got tired of it so every day, he would simply ask if she was going to listen this time. When she either shook her head absently or didn't even respond, he dropped it.

Her teachers were quite the opposite. They were worried so instead of leaving her alone, they would call on her extra often during class just to get her to speak.

"Miss Finn, what is Amortentia?"

"Love potion."

That was it.

"Alright, let's see your dream journal," Lucius asked the following weekend. Though it had only been less than two full weeks since she started ignoring Draco, it felt like years and everyone's treatment of her definitely mirrored that. She handed over the black notebook.

"This is perfect," Narcissa said proudly.

"Aurelia, I think you're ready," Lucius announced. A month. That's all that it had been. It had been exactly a month since Aurelia began her intensified Legilimency training with the necklace. It almost surprised her that her progress had been so good in that short span of time.

"Well, I've taken the liberty of picking up some Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes to make this more believable."

"Sounds good," she answered in nonchalance, as usual.

"Would you like to write it?" Lucius asked.

"Whatever," she shrugged and picked up a piece of parchment.

"Well?" Narcissa asked with raised eyebrows.

"I'm at a loss," Aurelia frowned.

"I'll do it," Draco sighed impatiently.

_Ron,_

_We were walking around Hogsmeade and found this. Looked nice. We suggest you give it to Hermione and stop hiding your feelings you sodding git._

_Fred and George_

_P.S. We added some Weasley Products because I'm sure you guys can do with a little fun._

"Is that good?" he asked Aurelia specifically. She didn't say anything in response. She simply nodded curtly and took a bit out of a pickle.

"That's fine, Draco," Lucius confirmed, reading it over. "Narcissa, the necklace."

"I hope this works," she sighed as she handed over the four-cornered star on a golden chain. Lucius tied the necklace and a few Weasley products into a neat parcel, attached the letter to it and sent his golden eagle-owl out the window.

"Is that all?" Aurelia asked from her place on the sofa.

"Yes, try to get some rest today and keep up your morning training," Lucius said. She got up from the sofa and walked briskly out of the door not waiting for Draco to come after her. Once she was halfway down the street, she cursed herself silently for forgetting where she was going and how she was supposed to get there. She Disapparated. The shop keeper had given up hope at the fact that there were two teenagers walking in and out of a hole in his store's wall every week and didn't acknowledge her presence as she stepped into the passageway and walked back into the school. She didn't speak to anyone on the way. The Common Room was crowded with students studying harder than ever for exams the following week. Aurelia, as usual, did not join them. Instead, she went into her Dormitory, sat on her bed, pulled the curtains around her four-poster and did her homework in silence.

At nearly one o' clock in the morning, she decided it was time for bed and, putting her things away, went to sleep. That night she dreamt constantly of a golden owl flying over rooftops and treetops. It was a comforting peacefulness from the dreams she had to concentrate on for the past month.

It only took two days. Two days of silence. Two days of indifference. Two days of anticipation. However, the two days were over and all the much awaited events unfolded. Aurelia had just put all of her books away, deciding to leave the rest of her studying for the following day. Before long, Aurelia had drifted off into a deep sleep.

.

"Hermione, why exactly did you bring this?" Ron asked from his seat at the opening of a tent.

"What?" she turned around, her wand pointed straight at the ground.

"This book," he motioned.

"Ron, that's a potions book," she pointed out.

"No kidding."

"Well, we might need it! What if we…I don't know! We might need it!" she said frustrated and returned to her task.

"Did you see that?" Harry whispered with a grin.

"What?" Ron asked. Hermione tried to ignore them as she walked in a circle, muttering enchantments under her breath.

"She didn't argue with you," Harry pointed out, flipping a page in one of the many books they had scattered around them.

"So?" Ron asked, looking up at Hermione who was still placing protective charms around their small campsite in the middle of a secluded wood. "What does that ha--"

.

"Damn!" Aurelia shouted and sat up in bed.

"Reli?" came Pansy's voice from somewhere in the room. Oops, Aurelia thought. She had completely forgotten it was the middle of the night. "Are you alright?"

"Fine," she assured. "Go to sleep."

She heard Pansy let out a sigh and turn over on her side. After a minute or two, her even breathing blended in with the other girls'.

What frustration. She knew there were supposed to be set backs but she didn't think they would be this. So, as far as she knew, Legilimency on the necklace wouldn't work if certain charms were protecting it. She didn't care what the charms were, all she knew is that wherever Potter and his friends were and whatever they were doing there, she would not be able to see any of it, ever. It was all a waste of time. The entire past month that she spent working her mind to numbness had been for nothing. She couldn't use her abilities for anything useful. She spent an entire month going through training for several hours a day to learn how to remember the dreams that she unwillingly has because of a magical connection with a family heirloom and now, it was for nothing. Silently cursing to herself, Aurelia got out of bed and rummaged through her trunk for some parchment and a quill.

_Malfoy,_

_Doesn't work. Any of it. Had a dream of Potter, Weasley and the mudblood. They're in a forest somewhere, setting up camp. The Granger girl put up enchantments and I can't see it anymore. I guess that's the set back my father didn't know about. Tell Lucius if you want. I don't care._

_Aurelia._

That would be enough, she thought. After all, she had absolutely no desire to talk to Draco. She knew it was foolish to have thrown away their relationship because he was being _irresponsible_. Even now, the idea seemed comical. But Aurelia was stubborn. She would under no circumstances be the first one to back out of the fight. Although, he _had_ tried to apologize countless times. Doesn't matter, she thought angrily. He will not be forgiven.

Without bothering to wait until everyone woke up, Aurelia crept out of the Dormitory and walked on tip-toe to the boys'. She paused at the door and when snoring from the inside confirmed that everyone was asleep, she opened it and walked toward a bed she had known too well with the sleeping figure of a rather attractive blond in it. She placed the letter quietly on his night stand and left the room, trying to look at his beautiful face too long. With a deep sigh, she returned back to bed only to be awakened an hour later for training.

"What do you mean it doesn't work?" Draco demanded once she was in the Common Room with him. Aurelia didn't reply. She kept the same blank look that occupied her face for the past two weeks. "Answer me!"

Aurelia sat in her chair. Not moving, not blinking. She could practically feel Draco's fury radiating off of him but chose to ignore it. She was as stubborn as a cross hippogriff and was not about to change her ways.

"Fine! Don't talk to me! I am so sick and tired of this. I guess there's not point in training since this is all turning out to be rubbish anyway," he said angrily and stood there, probably hoping to get a response this time.

"See you in class, Malfoy," Aurelia said, just as she always did, and left the room in a few quick strides. Behind her, she heard the clattering of a chair falling to the floor and rolled her eyes.

As Aurelia sat quietly in her History of Magic class Wednesday afternoon, something a little unexpected happened. Professor Binns was talking in his same, boring, monotone voice about the second Goblin War when Aurelia's eyelids began to droop. No matter how much she tried to keep them open, they refused. She had been up rather late the previous night, studying harder than ever--the frustrating dream and late-night trip to the boy's dormitory didn't help much--and she guessed that the lack of sleep was finally catching up with her.

"…Griphook the fourteenth…" she heard the ghost's voice drift into her mind. She snapped her eyes open. "…It wasn't until 420 B.C…" she tried to listen but it was barely working. "…The armies were fairly large…" What was he saying? "…Gubamn led his troops…" She gave up. Aurelia drifted off into a nap and quickly was not sorry that she did.

.

"What about Hogwarts?" Hermione asked, gazing at the river.

"I think that would actually be brilliant," Ron supplied and stopped in his tracks. "This looks good here."

"How many would we actually find?" Harry asked, stopping next to Ron and taking out his makeshift fishing pole.

"Loads," said Hermione, doing the same. "I hear Neville, Luna and Ginny are trying to restart Dumbledore's Army."

"You think that's working out in there favour?" Ron guffawed.

"Maybe," Hermione shrugged and threw her line in.

"That's settled then," Harry nodded and followed her actions.

"I have a splendid idea," Ron volunteered.

"Go on."

"Well, say one of us," he gestured to himself and Hermione only. "Were to take some of our Polyjuice Potion. We could turn into you, Harry. Then, we'd get captured by one of You-Know-Who's Death Eaters, this would be after Hogwarts obviously. They would summon You-Know-Who, thinking they've got you, then we'd all jump out, you do what you need to and we win!"

"Ron…" Hermione shook her head as though about to tell him it was stupid. "That is the most brilliant thing I've ever heard."

"Wait…what?"

"Hermione's right, Ron," Harry agreed. "That was brilliant."

"Wow," Ron was blushing.

"When do we go to Hogwarts?" Harry asked.

"How about--"

.

"Miss Finn!" Professor Binns yelled loudly next to Aurelia's ear. "Please do not sleep in my class." Aurelia groaned so loudly that everyone who wasn't already staring at her turned to look. "Pardon?"

"Er, sorry, Professor," she said. "Won't happen again."

"Good," he nodded and floated to the front of the class to continue his lecture. Aurelia began muttering angrily under her breath.

"Stupid ghost. Couldn't have died and stayed dead. Sodding git…" she mumbled. Angrily, she pulled out a piece of parchment and scrawled exactly what she had seen--putting extra emphasis on the fact the Binns ruined it all--and threw the note at Draco who's eyes seemed to positively light up at the sight of a note from Aurelia. After he read it, he turned to her with wide eyes and sent a note back, saying he would tell his father.

* * *

**A/N: Ha, that was fun. I haven't made Draco and Aurelia argue in a long, long time. Well, there it is. Chapter 22. I'm almost finished with the Twilight saga. I should be done by probably tomorrow. I still have half of Ecplise and all of Breaking Dawn to read. Never fear, I won't stop updating. Well, I will because, sadly, we only have two chapters left. Tear.**

**Reviews are absolultely fantastic! So leave some :)**


	24. Added Stress

**-23-  
**Added Stress, Forgotten Feelings and Frustrating Break-Downs

* * *

**Summary:** She barely even knew him. Draco Malfoy was just one of those kids she passed in the halls between classes or asked to borrow a piece of parchment from when she had none. Thanks to the Dark Lord, however, Aurelia Finn and Draco Malfoy will soon find out they have a little more than just age and house in common. And maybe a little bit greater of a task than just "that Charms essay due next period" underway.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except my made up character and plot. J.K Rowling owns all else.  
**Warnings:** Sexual Situations, Violence, Character Death, Substance Use/ Abuse, Adult Language, Book 7 Disregarded, Book 6 Events Slightly Altered  
**A/N: **Ha! I finished _Breaking Dawn_, just as I predicted. It was amazing. Anyone that has not yet read the _Twilight_ saga, you must do so right away. It's superb. Anyway, Rupert Grint celebrated his 20th birthday yesterday so happy belated birthday to him!

* * *

She didn't get better. Aurelia was just as--if not more--distant from everyone around her as she had been before. The N.E.W.Ts were just breaths away and Aurelia did not tear herself away from her books for even the slightest moment.

Pansy, at this point, was so convinced there was no hope in restoring Aurelia that she began to completely give up. She no longer sat with Aurelia at meals, no longer sat with her in classes if she could help it, no longer accompanied Aurelia in the bathroom every morning, no longer escorted her to lessons. The only time the two girls interacted was in the early morning when Pansy had to wake her at five o' clock for her training. Yes, the training had to continue; Lucius feared that if she fell back on the training she might start to slip away from her skill because there were so many stressful distractions around her.

Draco didn't give up. Every morning he asked Aurelia if she would listen. Every morning she either ignored him or shook her head with a no. And, even though this was a small effort, he was the only one that gave it. Regardless, he still only received the same four phrases from Aurelia.

Aurelia's teachers started to call on her in class less and less to the point where most of them forgot she ever attended their lessons and probably wouldn't have noticed if she didn't. They would have been satisfied if she simply showed up whenever there was an assignment due and left after turning it in. After all, her grades were better than ever. She quickly rose to the top of her year but she couldn't care less. No amount of recognition or praise would be able to bring her back.

All the meanwhile, no progress was being made in the Potter department. Every night, no matter how hard she tried, she never got a date out of them. They were always under the protection of their enchantments. Entries in her dream diary either remained blank or filled with unimportant nonsense such as fishing in a river. They never talked about their visit to Hogwarts. The Dark Lord was growing impatient. He said that he was guarding the area, looking for Potter's intrusion but it was fruitless for the moment. Potter didn't seem to be nearing.

There was a knock at the door. Aurelia looked up from her History of Magic book to see who it was. After a moment's silence, the person came in. Only, it wasn't a person.

"Is there anything miss would like?" the small house elf squeaked from the other side of the threshold. "Some pickles, miss?"

"Ugh," she shuddered at the thought. "Gross. I hate pickles. Bring me some carrots, those sound good right about now."

The house elf, though shortly astonished at her sudden disgust in her usual favourite, bowed and left the room. That was probably the longest sentence she constructed for the past few weeks. Aurelia didn't particularly notice, though. She turned her attention back to her homework, only breaking her gaze to the thank the house elf for her food. Another knock.

"Aurelia?" came a small, timid voice. She recognized it though it was difficult to remember who it belonged to. She searched her brains to match the small, twinkling voice to a person she knew but came up to a blank.

"Come in," she replied and shook her thoughts away to concentrate once more on the book in front of her.

"Can we talk?" It was Pansy. Aurelia nodded absently. "Erm, without the book?"

"Fine," she looked up.

"I'm worried about you," she began. Aurelia simply looked at her with a blank expression. "It's been weeks since you talked to anybody, Aurelia. I thought that if I gave you some space and left you alone for about a week that you would snap out of it but you're only getting worse and it's unnerving." She didn't reply. "Is this about Draco? Are you still mad at him? Because he's miserable without you." Aurelia remained motionless. "I understand that N.E.W.Ts are a big deal and a lot of stress and I'm sure that the rest of what you have to deal with doesn't help but you can't do this."

Pansy shifted her feet uncomfortably and Aurelia still didn't reply. They stayed staring at each other for a while. At least five minutes passed before either of them moved or spoke. Obviously, it was Pansy that did so.

"I'm not asking for much here, Aurelia," she sighed. "I simply want you back. At least speak to us. To me. Damnit, I miss my best friend. And Draco is killing himself for you. We just want you back. We're not telling you to stop studying or even stop worrying for that matter but just…talk to us."

Aurelia didn't respond, she continued to look blankly at Pansy; no emotion creeping up on her features. Pansy sighed in defeat and left the room. The silence was drumming in Aurelia's ears. She knew Pansy was right. She knew it. She also knew that she was being stupid in not taking Draco back. She barely even remembered what separated them in the first place. It didn't matter, though. It was too late for her to come back. She didn't feel, she didn't care. It was purgatory, numbness, indifference, nonchalance. She was in that state and to come out of it was nearly impossible.

Nearly impossible. Nearly. Maybe there was a chance. A small chance. Very small. But it was there. A small tremor of possibility and hope for Aurelia's revival, so to speak. Maybe there was something, or someone, that might be able to shake her out of this indifferent state. Someone to teach her how to feel again. Something, anything.

"Aurelia," the voice was small, timid, twinkling. "Wake up. It's six o' clock."

Aurelia shot up in bed. Her eyes darted around the room and examined her roommates all preparing for another day of school. Her frantic eyes came to rest on Pansy.

"I'm sorry I didn't wake you at five. I didn't think you needed the extra exhaustion today," she said. Aurelia raised her eyebrow in slight confusion. "First day of N.E.W.Ts, Reli."

So this was it. The day that she had been dreading for months. All year, actually. The day that she knew would come but somehow always wished it didn't. Before she had time to panic, something began pushing its way up her throat and she sprinted off to the bathroom. To her surprise, a minute later, someone was standing beside her with their hand on her back. She looked up to see Pansy. It had been so long since Pansy accompanied her on her morning unpleasantry. She wanted to smile but instead she threw up some more.

"Do you want to come with me to breakfast?" Pansy asked. Aurelia nodded in response.

They went to the dormitory and Pansy waited while Aurelia got dressed and packed her Transfiguration and History of Magic books. Ever since Pansy distanced herself from Aurelia she had taken to only carrying no more than two subjects in her bag to avoid heavy weights. Now that she only needed the books required for her to study from, it wasn't a problem.

Pansy took Aurelia's messenger bag and slung it over her shoulder with a warm smile. Aurelia tried to grin in reply but she was sure it looked more like a grimace so she quickly turned away and left the room with Pansy behind her.

Aurelia had trouble thinking about anything except N.E.W.Ts at breakfast. Everyone around her seemed just as anxious. Few people touched their food, instead they had their noses pressed into books, getting in some last minute studying. Aurelia was definitely one of those people. She sat in silence, reading and chewing absently on a carrot.

"No more pickles, Aurelia?" Pansy joked. Aurelia made a disgusted face and turned back to her book.

"You eat too many vegetables."

It wasn't Pansy. This was a new voice. A voice she wished wasn't there because she knew who it belonged to. It didn't take her long to figure it out like it did with Pansy the previous night. No, she knew this voice because she was used to hearing it's husky, alluring tone every morning. Draco Malfoy.

"Draco…," Pansy warned.

"Can I talk to you?" he demanded, ignoring Pansy. Aurelia pretended to not hear him.

"Aurelia," he said. No reply. "Aurelia Leandra Finn, can you please accompany me into the Entrance Hall for a chat?"

It sounded formal yet pleading in a desperate way. There was something different about the way he spoke to her. The usual huskiness of his voice wasn't arrogant and sure of himself the way it always was. There was no loving softness the way there usually was when he talked to her. No. This voice was hurt. It was anxious and hurt from every angle. As though it had suffered torture of the mind and no longer knew it who it belonged to. Aurelia stood up reluctantly and followed him out of the Great Hall.

"I'm sorry," he said quickly, without waiting for the door to completely close behind them or waiting for Aurelia to turn around and look at him. She never did, anyway. "I'm sorry. I didn't want this. I didn't think that my actions were so…intolerable. I didn't--I didn't want to lose you. I promise, I'll be more mature and responsible. I swear I'll stop acting like a child. You were right, I do need to grow up and I swear I've done that and I'll continue to do that. I don't want to fight with you. I don't want to be away from you anymore. I see you every morning and you barely speak to me. I want to hear your voice say something more to me. I want to hear it tell me more than hello and goodbye. I want to hear your voice same my name. Not Malfoy but Draco. I want you near me. I want to be able to kiss you and stroke your hair and wrap my arms around you. I've changed, I swear I have. Can't you tell? You know the old me would never be standing here like I am now. You made me realize that I was wrong in what I was doing and how I was acting.

"I don't want to be away from you anymore. Tomorrow is never guaranteed. Tomorrow is no longer a sure thing. There might not be tomorrow for me." She shook her head on protest to his statement but he continued. "You never know. Please, I don't want to be away from you. Our time--my time--might very possibly be short and I want to spend it with you. Please. Forgive me. Please."

He waited. She waited. He hoped. She thought. The emotions, the ones she thought she lost, came flooding back. Every emotion she knew and a few others. Anger, annoyance, surprise, hate, love, happiness, glee, frustration, excitement, sorrow and forgiveness.

"I'm sorry too," it came as a whisper. It was small and feeble. Her bell-like tone barely reached Draco but he heard it enough. It was more than just three simple words, it was the world to him. She spoke but she spoke something more than empty, rehearsed acknowledgements. She spoke to him with emotion and he loved it. A large smile spread across his face.

"Aurelia," he began. "Will you go out with me?"

Aurelia blinked. She wasn't expecting that. She wasn't sure they had ever broken up. Then, she did something she had not remembered doing for weeks. She laughed.

"Yes," she giggled and threw her arms around Draco's neck. "Yes I would love to."

His smile got so wide that she though it might break his lips, so to prevent such an atrocity, she kissed him. It was blissful. Better than she remembered it. Actually, it was nothing at all like she remembered it. It was cold. Ice cold. The usual warming sensation that overtook her body when their lips touched was gone. It was replaced with an icy tingle that sent goosebumps across her skin. It felt like they were two completely different people. As though the kisses they used to share belonged to children with a crush. Now, they were adults with so much more. Aurelia marvelled at the coolness she received from his warm lips. This was all it took.

"Hiya, Pansy," Aurelia said happily as she sat back down at the table. Happiness. She had that emotion again and it felt wonderful.

"Aurelia?" she was utterly astonished at the grin on her best friend's face. "You're back!"

"It's goo--" she didn't finish as she got the wind knocked out of her. Pansy hugged her so quickly and so forcefully that she was sure she collided with a boulder. She didn't say anything, only hugged her back.

"It's good to hear your voice again, Aurelia," she said as she pulled her grasp away. "I suppose I have Draco to thank for this."

"You do," Aurelia smiled and turned to look at him. He smiled at her and kissed her lips sweetly.

"Well, I'm sure you have to study so we won't bother you," Draco said.

"No," she shook her head gingerly. "I'll study in Potions."

He kissed her again and held it for a little longer. When he pulled away she was a little red in the cheeks.

N.E.W.Ts were just as hard--if not worse--as Aurelia imagined. She was actually surprised that she managed to live through the entire week. On the fifth of June, the last day of exams, Aurelia was so exhausted that she almost hoped Granger had sent the necklace to someone just so she could dream about the owl's flight. She remembered the last time she dreamt that and it was soothing. However, when she went to sleep early that night, her dreams did not consist of anything to do with the necklace. Potter and his friends obviously still had enchantments around them so her dreams were of their own free will. Aurelia's dreams were random and didn't seem to have any real meaning behind them which was almost as relaxing as the owl.

"Miss Finn," Draco's voice came from behind Aurelia as she walked across the common room the following morning. She wheeled around to see Draco with a rose in his hand. "I do believe I asked you out? Which means you owe me a date."

"Of course," she rolled her eyes and crossed the room to kiss her boyfriend. "Shall we?"

"You know, I think I miss it when you guys were apart," Pansy commented bitterly as Draco put his arm around Aurelia's waist and kissed her cheek.

"Jealous again, Pansy?" Aurelia joked. Draco laughed lightly at her while Pansy simply scowled. They sat into one of the carriages and waited for the ride to Hogsmeade to commence.

"They're ugly," Pansy commented as they sat.

"What?"

"The Thestrals."

"You can see them now?" Draco raised an eyebrow. Pansy nodded.

"Issac."

Aurelia bit her bottom lip. She hadn't thought about Issac for so long. In fact, so many of her memories seemed to have pushed themselves to the back of her mind during her numbness, that she really didn't even know she had killed someone up until it was mentioned.

"Reli?" Draco saw her uneasy expression. "You alright?"

"Fine," she nodded. It wasn't a lie. She _was_ fine; About what she had done and not at all remorseful, which was definitely a relief.

The three of them walked casually through the crowded main street of Hogsmeade. Everything looked so inviting. All the little shops and cafes were just reminders that it was all over. Exams and worries were finally behind them. As they walked out of Honeydukes, sharing a box of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans, laughing at the flavours each picked out, they passed by Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. Aurelia was sure that Vincent scowled at Draco.

"Erm, Draco?" Aurelia asked hesitantly. "What happened with you guys?"

"Who?" he asked through clenched teeth.

"Crabbe and Goyle. I mean, they used to follow you around everywhere ever since first year.

"Grew apart," he replied bitterly and Aurelia decided to drop it. "Three Broomsticks anyone?"

"I could do with a drink," Pansy agreed and the three of them walked to the famous pub.

"Three butterbeers," he told Madam Rosmerta. He paid for the drinks and led them all to a table near the east wall.

Everything looked so peaceful. The pub was filled with Hogwarts students relaxing after exams the previous five days. Everyone was so happy. They all sat in two's and three's, some in four's. No one sat alone. Aurelia thought what it would have been like if not for Draco. Would she be sitting out there alone today? Would she even be here at all? Aurelia somehow doubted she would have had the energy or the desire to come to Hogsmeade in her previous state.

Everything was such a blur then. It seemed as though it was only just last night that she sat alone in her bed, studying. No feeling crossing her mind except concentration. No thought other than the words on the pages in front of her. No emotions, no feelings, no thoughts, no needs. She frowned at the thought of how she had been. Was it really as bad as everyone acted? Did she really seem so distant that people were justified in not speaking to her anymore. She couldn't believe that she wasted so much time away from Pansy and Draco. As Draco, so kindly, pointed out, tomorrow was never guaranteed. And yet, she had spent a few weeks not even speaking to either of them when it could very well have been her final few weeks…not that she wanted to believe that.

"Are you alright, Reli?" Draco asked, seeing her grim expression.

"Yeah," Aurelia nodded absently with a forced smile. "'m fine."

"Harry Potter?" came a stranger's voice as two of them took a seat a couple tables away from Aurelia. She strained to listen.

"Yeah," came a second voice, this one was lower pitched and rougher. It was a man. "To Hogwarts."

"When?" asked the first, soft, gentle voice of the woman. "What for?"

"Hey, Aurelia," Blaise announced as he joined their table. Aurelia waved at him with a meek smile and focused on the conversation of the strangers.

"Getting supporters. Going to fight You-Know-Who, apparently," said the man.

"Aurelia," Blaise called but she tried to ignore him.

"Supporters?" asked the woman in confusion. "At Hogwarts?"

"Aurelia," Blaise called again.

"You know, friends, teachers, stuff like that," the man confirmed.

"Think he'll find any?" asked the woman.

"Aurelia," Blaise asked persistently.

"Are you kidding?" he roared with laughter. "'Course he will!"

"Aurelia," Blaise said in impatience. "I thought you said she snapped out of it."

"Right," the woman chuckled. "So when's he supposed to be coming? Maybe we can join. Goodness knows I could do with a duel or two."

"Aurelia!"

"WHAT!" she shouted, glaring at Blaise. She couldn't take his interruptions anymore.

"Sheesh, never mind!" he threw his hands up in defence. He mumbled something under his breath about hormonal pregnant teenagers. Aurelia rolled her eyes and focused her attention back to the conversation.

"You wish!" the man laughed. "They're basically at the bottom of the season! I put ten galleons on the Tornados."

"I think they're luck is starting to run out this season," the woman commented. They were talking about Quidditch. QUIDDITCH! Aurelia groaned loudly and sped out of the Three Broomsticks in anger.

"Aurelia!" Draco called as he sprinted out after of her. She didn't stop. She continued to make her way swiftly down the street, away from people. People that she might lose her temper on and rip to shreds.

"Aurelia! What is wrong!" Draco demanded as he got close enough to grab her wrist and stop her.

"BLAISE! THAT'S WHAT'S WRONG!" she yelled.

"Blaise?" Draco asked in confusion, letting her go.

"YES, BLAISE!" she was frustrated. No, more than frustrated. She was absolutely enraged. She continued down the street in a brisk pace. Draco kept up.

"Do you know that I was mere _words_ away from finding it all out?" Her voice was low and calm but it shook with anger. "Someone in the Three Broomsticks was talking about Potter. Talking about him coming to Hogwarts. I was no more than two words away from finally finding it all out. After weeks of meaningless training and dreams, it was all about to pay off. But, no, Blaise had to interrupt me. He _had_ to make me stop listening for just that one second. And you know what I heard when I listened again? THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT _QUIDDITCH!_ That's it! I missed it!"

"Aurelia, don't worry," he tried to sooth her. He stopped her from walking and pulled her into his arms, not caring that they were in the middle of a crowded street. "You have done more than enough for _him_. He values it. If not for you we wouldn't have known they were coming at all. No one blames you for not knowing anymore than that."

"That doesn't make this any better, Draco."

"I know it doesn't," he nodded. "But it doesn't make it any worse."

Aurelia sighed. He was right. If not for her, no one would have the slightest idea Potter planned to come back to Hogwarts. No one would have the slightest idea what to expect. No one would be on guard, waiting for him. Waiting for his arrival.

"I just wish someone would Avada Kedavra Potter's arse already and get this bloody war over with," she muttered acidly.

"So do I," Draco chuckled.

"Let's go back," Aurelia sighed into his shoulder. He nodded and walked back to the castle, holding Aurelia's hand tightly in his.

**A/N: First, the whole "icy kiss" thing has nothing to do with the fact that I'm reading (or was reading) Twilight. Haha, I thought about that as I wrote it so I decided to clarify it in my Author's Note. I had that planned much before I read about Edward, so don't worry. Well, well, well, one chapter left. It's crazy, it seems like just yesterday I sat down and absently began writing a fanfiction. Review please? I would appreciate it lots :)**


	25. Frustrating BreakDowns

**-24-  
**Frustrating Break-Downs, Carefree Days and Final Battles

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**Summary:** She barely even knew him. Draco Malfoy was just one of those kids she passed in the halls between classes or asked to borrow a piece of parchment from when she had none. Thanks to the Dark Lord, however, Aurelia Finn and Draco Malfoy will soon find out they have a little more than just age and house in common. And maybe a little bit greater of a task than just "that Charms essay due next period" under way.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except my made up character and plot. J.K Rowling owns all else.  
**Warnings:** Sexual Situations, Violence, Character Death, Substance Use/ Abuse, Adult Language, Book 7 Disregarded, Book 6 Events Slightly Altered  
**A/N: **OH MY GOD! It's over. This is it everyone, the final chapter of Unexpectedly Acquainted. I hope you've all enjoyed it. It's come very far and, frankly, I'm proud of myself. Well, enjoy it. Chapter 24 :)

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"Good morning," Draco smiled as he saw Aurelia enter the Common Room. He kissed her sweetly on the lips.

"Hi," Aurelia replied blankly.

"You're up early," he grinned. Aurelia gave him a half-hearted smile in response. "Are you alright?"

"If I say no, will I have to tell you why?"

"I would like that."

"I'm fine."

"Aurelia, what's the matter?" Draco persisted. She shook her head. "Come sit."

"I'm fine," Aurelia insisted.

"Barely," he disagreed and led her to the couch. "Now, tell me what's on your mind."

"I'm fine," she repeated once more.

"Are you--are you _crying_?" he asked as he saw Aurelia's eyes clearly for the first time. She shook her head. "Please? Tell me?"

"Okay," she sighed. "I just don't want to sound…ugh, hormonal, I guess would be an appropriate word."

"It's fine. Just tell me," he pushed.

"It's just this war. It's killing me. I have this…feeling that things will go badly. I don't know, maybe I'm just a pessimist. I don't regret joining, I don't. I just wish that things would have gone a little differently. This is all a little too much. You may be thinking I sound a little moody because a few months ago I was throwing a fit because I didn't feel involved enough but that's not it. I just don't want to be so…crucial to everyone's future.

"This isn't right. I'm eighteen years old, for crying out loud. I think I was so caught up in a being part of it that I didn't even realize how _involved_ I would have to be. Not in the good way. I mean, I just feel like I have the weight of the entire world on my shoulders. Or, my stomach, rather," she chuckled slightly. "I just don't want everything to turn disastrous and by that I mean I don't want him to die.

"I know, none of us do but my desires are fuelled by something a little more. The truth is, I don't think I can handle it. I won't be able to lead us into another war. I don't think I'm strong enough. No matter how much I would love to pretend that I am, I'm not. Frankly, I'm too damn stubborn. You remember what I was like when I first had to start training over the Easter holiday. I was completely stubborn. I don't think I have what it takes to be anyone's leader. What were they thinking? Me? Were they out of their minds?

"I may seem calm and I may seem ready for this sometimes but the truth of it is, that I'm not. My mind just keeps yelling at me. It keeps telling me 'Aurelia, give up now because you have no idea what you're doing!' And to be honest, my mind is right. I'm literally panicking on the inside. The panic doesn't show but I'm so bad on the inside that I feel like I'm losing my mind half of the time. I just want to lock my self up, away from the world, until all of this nonsense is over."

"Aurelia," Draco wrapped his arms around her and cradled her head against his chest. "I promise you that everything will work out. I promise you that I will always be there to help you. You can do this. You can do anything. You're strong enough for this, I swear."

"Draco, what have I done to you?" she shook her head with a smile. "You've grown up."

"Thanks," he chuckled.

"Let's go get some breakfast," Aurelia finally sighed. "I'm terribly hungry."

"Sounds good," he agreed and led her up to the Great Hall. Pansy joined them after a few minutes and the trio ate together. They decided to join most of the student body out on the grounds to relax in the warm after-exams atmosphere that lingered in the air.

"Okay," Aurelia pondered. "The Giant Squid against…a herd of Centaurs."

"Squid," Pansy declared without thought. "Easily. The Centaurs wouldn't have a chance. He has the advantage of the water."

"Exactly," Draco agreed. "He'd just need to grab them with a tentacle and drown them."

"Fine," Aurelia huffed. "Draco?"

"Erm," he thought for a moment. "Professor McGonagall against…Professor Dumbledore."

"McGonagall," Aurelia said suddenly.

"Why?" Draco asked.

"Easy," she smirked. "Dumbledore's dead."

"Right," Draco roared with laughter. "But say he weren't."

"Dumbledore," Pansy and Aurelia said in unison.

"Pansy?"

"Hippogriff against a thestral," she said.

"That depends," Aurelia remarked. "Can the hippogriff _see_ the thestral?"

"Erm…no."

"Then I vote on the thestral."

"No," Draco shook his head. "I think I would go with the hippogriff."

"How can the hippogriff win if it can't see it's opponent?" Aurelia argued.

"Have _you_ ever been mauled by one of those things?" he asked with widened eyes. Pansy began laughing uncontrollably, no doubt remembering the incident in third year. "It wasn't funny!"

"Yes it was!" Pansy laughed. Even Aurelia couldn't help the smile that was playing across her lips.

"You didn't seem to think it was funny when you were _fawning_ all over me because I was injured," he smirked.

"Below the belt," Pansy muttered, her laughter stopping abruptly.

"You know, you two should be glad I'm not the jealous type," Aurelia shook her head.

"Thank goodness for that because I probably wouldn't be getting away with as much as I am now," he replied suggestively.

"We are so through," Aurelia said and turned away from him.

"And yet, this still gives you chills," he said as he kissed her neck, his husky voice tingling her skin.

"Ahem," Pansy cleared her throat. "Third wheel isn't a comfortable position."

They pretended to ignore her. She made jets of water erupt from her wand, leaving both of them drenched. They returned the favour, oh so kindly. Forgetting all of their worries, the three engaged in a magical water fight. They spent hours outside. It almost felt as though they were little children again. Fooling around and having a good time, not worrying about the things going on around them because this was what they needed. Exams were over and they were free to do as they pleased for the remainder of the school year.

"Well, I'm exhausted," Pansy said, doubled over with her hands on her knees.

"Ditto," Aurelia panted.

"I think it should be about time for dinner," Draco suggested. The two girls nodded and skipped to the Great Hall. Once in the Entrance Hall, Draco stopped dead in his tracks.

"Draco?" Aurelia turned around to look at him.

"Are you feeling alright?" he asked sceptically.

"Erm, fine," Aurelia replied slowly.

"Right," he nodded. "I have to use the toilet."

"That was odd," Pansy mused as Draco ran off in a different direction.

"Just a little."

Aurelia shrugged and continued into the Great Hall with Pansy. Making their way through the crowd, the two girls took their seats at their now-usual places at the end of the Slytherin table. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood, now doubt still giddy about the end of exams. Aurelia herself let her mind wander to N.E.W.Ts as she ate. She was sure that she managed at least an E in all of her classes. She'd definitely studied hard enough to achieve that much.

"No!" Aurelia suddenly exclaimed.

"What's wrong?"

"Stupid, stupid, stupid," she muttered under her breath.

"Reli, what's wrong?" Pansy asked.

"I think I failed my Herbology exam," she shook her head.

"Oh not this again," Pansy groaned. Aurelia tended to make it a habit of thinking she messed up somewhere on her N.E.W.Ts ever since her very first exam was over on Monday morning.

"I'm serious!"

"Give it up, Aurelia, you did fine! I won't be surprised if you got Outstanding in every subject."

"I'm doomed," she shook her head solemnly.

"Drama queen," Pansy mumbled.

"What's that?"

"Nothing."

Pansy attempted to distract Aurelia from any thoughts about N.E.W.Ts for the rest of dinner. It worked for the most part. Halfway through, Aurelia became a little uneasy about Draco's absence.

"Where is he?" she groaned.

"Maybe he went back to the Common Room," Pansy shrugged.

"I'm going to go look for him. See you later?"

"Later."

Aurelia stood up from her place in the Great Hall, scanned the room quickly and left. There was a sinking feeling in her gut that maybe, just maybe, something wasn't right. That's silly, she thought. He's probably just tired, nothing to worry about. Only, when she got back to the Common Room, Draco was no where in sight. She tried the Boys' Dormitory but all she found were five unmade beds, a case filled with empty butterbeer bottles, clothes strewn across the floor and a few things she rather have not known the identity of.

Aurelia was sitting comfortably on the couch in the Slytherin Common, rubbing her stomach when Draco finally came in.

"Come with me," he said abruptly, not bothering to explain where he had been.

"Where?"

"The Shrieking Shack," he replied.

"The Shrie--Draco, what are you talking about?"

"Just come on," he urged and Aurelia obeyed.

He led them outside and across the grounds towards the Whomping Willow. Aurelia didn't have time to ask questions as Draco levitated a branch to touch a knot at the bottom of the trunk. Instantly, the tree stood still and Draco motioned for her to follow him towards it. The two slipped into a small hallow opening near the ground and were soon inside a tight passageway. Draco continued to lead her down the passage without uttering a word. Once they were in front of an old wooden door, Draco kissed her gently on the lips, told her he'd be just outside and left.

Aurelia cautiously placed a single hand on the door handle, as though hoping to get some sense of what was going on. She held her hand in place for a long while before turning the brass handle and pushing open the door. She came face-to-face with the Dark Lord himself.

"My Lord," Aurelia bowed quickly, recognizing the figure before her.

"Miss Finn," he hissed, not looking at her. "I have some news for you. Potter is in the castle."

"In-in the c-castle, my Lord?" she stuttered nervously.

"Yes, and it seems only a matter of time," he said almost to himself before looking straight at Aurelia. "There will be a battle, Miss Finn. A large one. I want you out of it."

"My Lord!" Aurelia began to protest.

"Do not argue!" the Dark Lord barked. "So long as you are next in line for my throne; so long as you are carrying that child; Heir of Salazar Slytherin, offspring of the great Lord Voldemort! So long as you are in your current state, your life will not be in jeopardy! Is that understood?"

"Y-yes, my Lord," she nodded feebly.

"Good. Now listen closely as I will not repeat myself," he said, settling his booming voice. "You will stay locked in your Dormitory. I will have a few of my finest guarding you. While you are in there you are not to persuade, ask, plead or magically force any of the guard to let you leave. Understand?"

"Yes, my Lord."

"You are not to attempt contact with anyone outside of your Dormitory. Understand?"

"Yes, my Lord."

"You are to remain inside that Dormitory until informed otherwise. Understand?" he repeated for the final time.

"Yes, my Lord."

"Good," he hissed. "Now get going! And send me Draco Malfoy."

With one last bow, Aurelia retreated out of the door and through the long passageway back to Hogwarts Grounds. She saw Draco standing just inside of the Whomping Willow's entrance, waiting for her.

"Draco," she whispered behind him and he whipped around, startled.

"What did he say?"

"He wants to see you," she said softly.

"M-me?" he asked. Aurelia nodded and Draco left her as he went through the same passage.

Aurelia stood waiting for him for nearly fifteen minutes. She couldn't get her mind off of what was to happen. A battle. A large one. That was what the Dark Lord had told her. What could happen? Who could die? Pansy? Her father? Draco? No. She mustn't think about these kinds of things. She must think only the positive. They would win. Of course they would. How could they not? The Dark Lord was the greatest sorcerer in the world! No one could defeat him. Especially not a teenage boy that always gets by merely on luck.

"Aurelia," she heard her name behind her and turned to see a very pale Draco Malfoy.

"What did he say?" she said to him just as he had to her.

"He said I am to stay with you in the Dormitory," he stated simply. Aurelia, overcome with joy and relief, launched herself at him.

"Oh, Draco I was so scared," she whimpered into his shoulder.

"Why would you be scared?"

"I thought-I thought that if you-you went out there that you could-could-d-die," she said finally, barely able to force the words out of her mouth.

"Everything will be okay," he rubbed her back gently.

"Draco, I," she paused and took a deep breath. "Draco, I love you."

He did not hesitate for even a moment before saying, "I love you too, Aurelia."

A smile spread widely across Aurelia's face. She couldn't contain how happy she was at that moment. She was, perhaps, the most important person to the Dark Lord right now. She was being held safely in the arms of a man that she loved. She had a very promising future ahead for herself and her unborn child. She had everything she could have ever wanted. Then, with a sharp pang, she realized it could all disappear in the matter of seconds.

"We need to go," Aurelia said shortly and felt Draco nod before they went back to the castle and into the safety of the Slytherin Dungeons.

Aurelia walked into the Common Room and looked around at her housemates. They didn't seem to have a clue of what awaited them. They were all chatting, carefree, with each other. She saw Pansy in the corner, talking with a sixth year and a wave of affection swept over her for the girl. She saw small eleven-year-olds playing Wizard Chess near the fireplace and felt guilty for the way she mistreated the little ones in the past. They were so young and didn't deserve what was to come. They all were.

"Aurelia, hurry," Draco urged as he pushed her towards the passage to the Girls' Dormitories.

"What are you doing?" Aurelia asked, turning back around when she noticed Draco was not following her.

"I have to stay out here. You know full well that I can't go through there," he nodded his head towards the Girls' Passage.

"Draco, no! I refuse to sit through this battle not knowing would could be happening to you! Take me to your Dormitory."

"Aurelia, I can't. You know I can't. The Dark Lord specifically said--"

"Bullocks to the Dark Lord!" she exclaimed in a hushed tone so that no one around them could hear. "I don't care! I need you with me. You mean more to me than any of this!"

Draco seemed to think painfully about this and finally said, "Alright, let's go."

"Thank you," Aurelia smiled and the two of them went to the Boys' Dorm.

"Will you be alright in here?" he asked as he led her to his own bed.

"I'll be fine. Draco, get Pansy. Please, you need to find Pansy and bring her in here."

"Aurelia, you can't do that. You know full well that you can not do that," he shook his head. "We're already breaking one rule by keeping you in here instead."

"Draco, she's my best mate."

"I know," he nodded sympathetically. "She'll be fine. She's strong and she's damn good at what she does. She'll be fine, I promise."

"Never make a promise you can't keep," she whispered so low that Draco didn't hear her.

It seemed that only a few seconds passed until three very familiar Death Eaters came into the Dormitory, accompanied by Draco who had gone to fetch them. Aurelia didn't acknowledge them at all. She simply stayed sitting on Draco's bed, staring at an unimportant spot on his bed covers. Draco sat silently beside her and pulled her into his arms.

Aurelia would have guessed that it was weeks. Years, even, before everything ended. All she could do was think about those that she would lose. Those that were important to her. She wished that her father and Pansy could have been in this room with her. She could only imagine what they must have been going through. Even if she couldn't guarantee that they were still alive.

She could hear the screams, the crashes, the explosions, the cracks of curses being thrown and every other unpleasant sound of a battle. She could hear them distantly at times and other times as though they were right outside her door. It was almost surreal to think that she was sitting right in the midst of a very active war. All she did was sit and breathe rhythmically while other people were out there, dying.

She was almost at the point of breaking down. She thought that she wouldn't be able to take it anymore. She almost contemplated whipping out her wand, placing the Imperius Curse on the four people in the room with her and forcing them to allow her to leave. She knew better though. And, before she could even think another thing about it, she noticed that the noises outside had quieted down. Seconds later, two men burst into the Dormitory. All four of her protectors drew their wands but the newcomers didn't acknowledge them. They simply removed the masks that were covering their faces to reveal very solemn expression. Finally, one of them spoke.

"The Dark Lord is…dead."

It echoed through her ears just as though someone took a large church bell and rung it directly next to her head. He was gone. The most powerful wizard to ever walk the Earth, was gone. Aurelia wanted to drift away and not come back for decades until the shock had subsided. However, when her eyes readjusted themselves to reality, she noticed what was going on around her.

The other six people in the room had all removed their own masks and hoods. They had now slowly fallen to their knees. Each one of them faced her with their head bowed and a loud murmur escaped each of their lips.

"My Lord."

* * *

**A/N: Tear, tear, tear. I'm so sad. I can't believe it's over. I'd really love to thank all of my readers! Special thanks to all the people that favourited this story or put it on their alerts. And an extra special thanks to everyone who reviewed. Thank you so much guys! You've made it all worthwhile.**

**Well, I'm sure you're all upset it's over. I know I promised that journal fic. However, I'm thinking about not doing it. I'm actually thinking about writing a Lily/ James story. I don't know yet. I would love it if you guys kept your eyes open for my new stuff. There's bound to be **_**something**_** coming soon.**

**If you have never taken the short time it requires to review before, now would be the best time to do so. It's all over guys and I would really appreciate some feedback. Did you like it? Love it? Hate it? Reviews will make me euphoric right now :)**

**Once again, thank you to everyone who read! I love you guys :) Farewell!**


	26. Author's Note

I've decided that this was probably the best way to get this message out to my readers because a good portion of you have either me or this story on your alerts.

I've decided on a sequel to _Unexpectedly Acquainted_.

I know that I never mentioned a sequel before and that's plainly because I was completely dead set against one. I had the ending of the story in my head from the very beginning and I swore that I would not write an epilogue or a sequel no matter what. "My Lord." just always seemed like the aboslutely perfect ending to me. And, to me, it was.

However, I'm going to be betraying myself.

One day, after I finished the story, I was laying in bed, trying to sleep when I had thoughts of the story crossing through my mind. I didn't even realize, at first, what I was thinking. It was the beginning to chapter one of my non-existant sequel. Once I finally couldn't stand it anymore, I got up, turned my computer back on and started typing. I wrote up all of chapter one that night.

I thought that maybe I just needed to get that out of my system and I would be able to forget all about it. I was wrong.

Two days ago, I was sitting in the airport in Dublin--I had a 9 hour wait for a connecting flight--and began writing in the notebook I took with me. I ended up writing the entire plot to the sequel. That's when I decided that enough was enough. I'm writing it.

So, now I sit here with this news. I'm already working on chapter 2. Eventually I will have internet--we just moved--on my own computer rather than just my mother's and maybe I'll start posting. School is obviously going to get in the way. (I start Monday. A little late because I wasn't registered yet due to the fact that I was away on holiday) I won't let it get in the way too much. I'll try to write everyday after I finish homework and such. Promise.

Well, now that you've all got this wonderful news,--I hope it is, anyway--there is but one thing I ask from you.

_Help me with a title?_

It would be greatly appreciated. I already have my banner on photoshop made, I just need a title to add to it.

The sooner I have a title, the sooner I can start posting because I plan on doing so ASAP. I'll be awaiting those PMs--actually I would prefer your requests along with reviews tehe--very anxiously.

Thanks for your patience and thanks again for reading :)


	27. The Sequel

I probably should have done this earlier but I didn't think about new readers that might not have had me on their author alerts.

The sequel to _Unexpectedly Acquainted_ has indeed been started. It is in my Authored Stories list on my bio page.

The story is called _Difficulties_ _Will Arise. _I shall give you a short synopsis here so that some of you may know what to expect.

In the sequel, we follow Draco and Aurelia's difficult lives after Hogwarts. Set a year later, in 1999, this story  
takes place over the course of 1½ years, ending in 2001. Aurelia has her mind set on finishing what the Dark  
Lord started. Being the one that has taken his place is a lot harder than anybody would have expected. In the  
time that followed the Battle Of Hogwarts the June of last year, Aurelia has had to pull herself together in the  
eyes of society. She needed to make a respectable name for herself; to uphold the high standing of her family.  
The outcome of the battle certainly took it's toll on Aurelia, not to mention the rest of people in her life.

Along with struggling to gain the trust of her new followers, gain the trust of the Ministry and, frankly, gain the  
trust of herself, Aurelia gets caught in a whirlwind. She fights hard to come out in the end, victorious. But at what price?

I hope you'll all be reading! Thanks again for being so faithful to this story. And to all my new readers: Welcome! You'll find that I accept reviews graciously :D


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